Kona EV in a winter emergency

Discussion in 'Hyundai Kona Electric' started by Lars, Jan 12, 2022.

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  1. What happens if one gets stuck in the winter in an EV? A very reasonable concern.
    Tesla has a "Camp Mode" mode, the Kona EV has a "Utility Mode". Both shuts off most of the power drain to conserve the power in the drive battery, only providing 120V AC 'for campers' and allows the operation of climate control and seat heat.

    I checked my Kona and it works as expected. In Utility mode power is provided to the Climate control as well as to the seat heaters keeping you nice and warm. There will certainly variables like the outside temp and power drain by other stuff like radio. The power drain by the climate control will vary quite a bit. It will be initially high until the set temp is reached, then the heater/heat pump will come on and turn off as needed. Based on my, very unscientific, study at 50% battery (~ 30kW) one could keep nice and comfy at 20C setting for about 30 hrs. If needed one can stretch the time by lowering the cabin temp and shot off all other electronics - like lights and the radio. At the end one may need to call a tow truck to the closest fast charger!

    The attached images show the drain characteristics of the climate and electronics. Low drain by the electronics indicate radio and seat heating are OFF.

    Now, if interested in EV basing by the media, check out the link below
    https://insideevs.com/features/559482/anti-ev-opinion-not-true/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email

    12-01-22-13-3-highest drain-Climate & Electronics.jpeg 12-01-22-13-4-mid drain1 20C Climate & Electronics.jpeg 12-01-22-13-5-mid drain2 @ 20C.jpeg 12-01-22-13-6-mid drain3.jpeg 12-01-22-13-7-no drain Climate & Electronics.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2022
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  3. milesian

    milesian New Member

    Isn't everything in the car 12V DC? Pretty sure no AC anywhere at least in the Kona.

    Also I wonder what the loss is like dropping from 400V to 12V. It's probably substantial and I think would be a multiplier on the power draws shown in your screenshots as far as actual draw on the traction pack.



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  4. As best we understand every heading in the images above are high-voltage drains. "Electronics" is the 12V system support by the LDC in terms of its HV drain.
     
  5. Kona can officially support up to 180W of load if a DC/AC inverter is plugged into the "cigar lighter" outlet on the bottom right, under the centre deck. Newer EVs actually have a 120V AC outlet. But my test I did not use this feature.
     
    Last edited: Jan 12, 2022
  6. Correct. The Electricity Use display pictured allows to differentiate between the drive train, climate control and 'other' loads by the 12V system. The aggregated total load represents the power drain on the HV battery.
     
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  8. milesian

    milesian New Member

    When I had a 1 kW load on the 12V system, I remember seeing a big difference in Torque Pro between the HV draw PID and the LDC PID discovered by hobbit. I assumed the difference was due to DCDC conversion.

    I didn't compare the LDC PID to what the dash "Electronics" displays, maybe next time I run a predictable load. If they match then it's possible the dash doesn't report total HV drain. Or maybe I'm just remembering stuff wrong.

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  10. 1kW load on the 12V system? That would pull at least 80 amps. There is no 12V wiring to aux sockets that would tolerate that. So how did you load up the 12v system to 1 kW?
     
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  12. Using the Utility Mode. If you connect directly to the 12V battery - using 2AWG wiring - you can drive a 1000W inverter. The how to is discussed elsewhere in detail.
     
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  13. cstrimel

    cstrimel New Member

    I was going to share this same blog post. The original Washington Post column, completely based on one truck driver’s opinion, was a jaw-dropping example of poor journalism. I really don’t think there is much difference between being stuck in an EV or ICE, since it really depends on battery/fuel level at the start of the emergency. The lesson is to never get on a limited access highway without a lot of fuel (and probably some water and snacks). But personally I would rather be sitting through such a nightmare “burning” battery charge than gas. Maybe this would make for a fun separate topic, but I am amazed at the audacity of the naysayers. I’m assuming editors give a command to write something anti-EV (or solar/renewable) every now and then just to throw meat to a segment of their readers. Such articles are usually so poorly researched, and really just misinform. The dude who wrote the WashPo column about a highway being littered with EVs in a snowstorm is a finance/economics writer.
     
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  14. Thanks Lars. I didn't think anyone would do that, but now I see how it would work.
     
  15. Hm ... I did. I also used this method to get power out of my Prius. The engine came On/Off to replenish the small 8kW NiMh battery when needed. 1000W is enough to keep my furnace (~460W), LED light bulbs and other small loads running. You have to know what you are doing though! Like keep the Prius running out of the garage! This is not an issue you worry about with en EV - unless it is a Bolt or Kona. :)
     

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