Preheating

bnaccs said:

I just installed a Clipper Creek in my garage. What is the most efficient way to preheat? Should I remote start the car with heat on eco,or actually power up or start the car and leave it plugged into the charger?

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My garage is also heated so i do not pre-condition. Keep in mind pre-conditioning is for the cabin and does nothing for the battery. If plugged in the TMS is constantly maintaining the battery whether or not you pre-condition the cabin.

If you garage is not heated when you park at night set the climate controls to auto and heat to HI and Comfort. Also make sure you have your heated seats set to auto in the configuration.

You can remote start twice. Each time runs for about ten minutes. Takes about 20 min for the battery to recharge after the 10 minute pre-condition. So if you pre-condition once, start about 30 minutes before departure. If your remote start twice (sometimes it gets that cold) start about 45 min to 1 hour before departure. You may have to do trial and error to see what works best for your conditions.

Joe67 said:

It is my understanding that the remote start also pre-conditions the temp of the high voltage battery as well

https://www.chevrolet.com/content/d...014 Volt Cold Weather Tips Sheet_Oct 2014.pdf

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I guess technically anytime the car is on the TMS is working to keep the optimum temperature. My point is that when the car is plugged into the grid, remote starting does nothing additional for the battery. The TMS is working when plugged in regardless of whether or not the car is on or not.

konimail said:

BUMP ...

Hello again,
I was hoping some of you fluent with the VOLT can clarify this. It seems that my #1 ( 2014 ) preconditions much better - the car is sufficiently warm after the cycle.
My newly acquired 2013 on the other hand, does not seem to be doing that well. The interior appear to be barely "touched" after precondition cycle.

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Refer to the manual page 2-8 which is the Remote Start section. Spells it out plainly there. There is much more written there but here is a piece of it:

During remote start:
. The climate control system will
typically default to the last
climate settings. If the fan is off
or if Fan Only was selected, the
air conditioning or heat will turn
on as needed.