Hurricane Irma and my Ford C-Max

[Telerisk]

We went thru Hurricane Irma and lost Electric for 2 nights....had it gone a 3rd night, we seriously considered sleeping in the C-Max with the AC running/Garage door up.  I do wonder how often in a segment of 1 hr the ICE would have kicked in to charge the Battery...and how long the ICE would have run to charge the batteries.  May sound a little out there but there was no way we were leaving our Home unprotected....after the storm and all homes and streets in total darkness.  

[SnowStorm]

I've thought about doing the same thing for a night out camping.  I think the ratio of ON to OFF time would be small.

[ptjones]

I will guaranty that it would kill your MPG's. :sad:  :lol2: 

 

Paul 

[SnowStorm]

Oh no - now I won't get any sleep thinking about that!  Back to a tent!

[ptjones]

Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Do what you got to do. :)

 

Paul

[plus 3 golfer]

To answer the OP's question: it depends on conditions - ambient temperature, humidity, set point temperature, blower speed, whether the radiator fan runs (to get airflow through condenser).

 

Based on likely hotter but less humid conditons and daytime sun when we'd leave our dog in a locked car for an hour or so with the AC on, I'd say ICE will start between 2-4 times an hour for just a few minutes each time ICE starts.  You will only be using about 15% of the HVB capacity during the charge / discharge cycle.  I don't know of any way you can force a higher use of the HVB (charge to a higher State Of Charge) as the algorithms won't run ICE just to increase SOC much past 50% when there is no driving load demands to be met.

 

Also, just so you know, the battery display symbol does not show actual SOC of the HVB but the "usable range" of SOC - between about 30% and 70% when the very tip of the symbol shows filled.

[Tom]

The news of the evacuation of coastal Fla.,with so many people needing gasoline that the FHP had to escort tanker trucks, caused me to wounder if the current automotive interest in all electric cars isn't misplaced.  Hybrid technology such as many C Max cars use, would allow for greater driving distance before the need to add gasoline making cars so equipped more desirable under such circumstances. 

 

Not sure about the clean air aspect between hybrid and total electric.  Probably depends a great deal on how the electricity is produced.

[raadsel]

The news of the evacuation of coastal Fla.,with so many people needing gasoline that the FHP had to escort tanker trucks, caused me to wounder if the current automotive interest in all electric cars isn't misplaced.  Hybrid technology such as many C Max cars use, would allow for greater driving distance before the need to add gasoline making cars so equipped more desirable under such circumstances. 

 

Not sure about the clean air aspect between hybrid and total electric.  Probably depends a great deal on how the electricity is produced.

 

It is an interesting question. I think the first thing to consider, people would likely have a "full tank" before leaving with an electric car, whereas some people have half a tank or less when they try evacuating; they don't plan well and then are looking for gas as they evacuate, and stations sell out. 

 

The other issue, what often happens (beyond not starting with a full tank) is that people are idling in traffic and don't bother turning off the car. An electric car can handle this better, though it is an equal issue if they don't turn off things like the A/C. In many ways, if people "drive" electric cars correctly (turn off if stopped for a few minutes and ensure non-critical electronics are off) an electric car would be better in an evacuation. 

 

Obviously a hybrid gives you the best of both for an evacuation -- though you can still have an issue running the A/C and other electronics in the car while crawling through the traffic.

Edited December 3, 2017 by raadsel

[cr08]

Honestly I think you are mis-estimating the accessory load a bit. Our C-Maxes (and pretty much any other modern hybrid/PHEV/EV) are pretty efficient across the board compared to traditional ICE vehicles. A/C has a completely variable compressor so rather than cycling on/off it will speed/slow as needed based on the cooling load so once the cabin cools off and the temp is just being maintained the electric load is greatly reduced. This is also greatly affected by what temp you set. The cooling fan in the engine bay is also completely variable and will adjust and only run as fast as needed based on the various systems in the car. Even on the Energi with electric heat, it tends to be as efficient as you can realistically get as it will only heat up the coolant as much as needed for the set temp in the cabin. Turn on recirc so you aren't trying to heat/cool outside air and save even more energy.

 

In fact this past summer even with 90-100 temps here in the Midwest once the cabin cooled off I -MAYBE- saw a 1 or 2 mile drop in my 20-25mi electric range on my Energi.

 

But as you said, that can also be adjusted if you are willing to sacrifice comfort. With how efficient our cars are, adjusting climate control and other accessory loads will make at least a noticable difference. But even without doing so I'd wager in the situation you mentioned with tons of stop and go traffic and idling even a hybrid's going to be 2-3x as efficient as an ICE vehicle.

 

There was actually a trip I took to see family this past summer. All highway, roughly 175mi. Normally on my Energi I average around 40mpg keeping speed with traffic usually 70-75mph (I don't go to hypermiling extremes like some). That particular trip there was a backup of traffic that was about 5-10mi at best. It bumped the whole trip average up to 50-55mpg. That was in EV Later (essentially reverts to hybrid mode) with A/C going.