2022 Mini SE Heat Pump & AC
- Thread starter Rexsio
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Urbanengineer
Active Member
This combats a little bit with what the 2023 FAQ says about preconditioning… this is why we have confusion lol.
“Impacts on range can be minimized by using the pre-conditioning function which brings the car and battery to operating temperatures before driving off, using power from the grid when plugged in.”
Heat pump has been in Mini Cooper SE since 2020.
“Impacts on range can be minimized by using the pre-conditioning function which brings the car and battery to operating temperatures before driving off, using power from the grid when plugged in.”
Heat pump has been in Mini Cooper SE since 2020.
Rexsio
Well-Known Member
The same heat pump was in 2014 BMW I 3 nothing new to BMW brand but how to preheat a car without app or without setting departure time.Is a way to do preheating manually ?I understand car have to be plug to L2 charger not L1 bc is not enough juice. Could you describe how to set a function please .
Urbanengineer
Active Member
Definitely download the app to get the best precon option before leaving. Otherwise you may precondition from the in car menus. No key dance afaik.
Rexsio
Well-Known Member
Someone here said you can’t warm up batteries only they get to warm stage when you driving could be that just misinformation? My i3 was living garage from 65-70 F for 6 years I never was using those preheat functions .
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
The i3 uses a R134a refrigerant heating/cooling system for the high voltage batteries. The MINI uses a water/glycol cooling line only. There is some heat generated during charging, but driving is the most effective way to heat the batteries.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
I think that's misleading marketing doublespeak. The "pre-conditioning function" is the cabin climatization, which will employ the high-voltage batteries to heat the cabin. That will warm up the batteries, but there's no separate battery warming functionality. Not that it's a bad thing, though. Cold doesn't kill batteries, just slows them down. Any way to use them will help get the electrons flowing.
Rexsio
Well-Known Member
All your statement here are very correct ,the worse for battery’s is heat not a cold and a car take care of that automatically when charger is plug in.Mini SE HVAC system is the most complicated from all EVs on market.I just hope going to hold on for for many years to come.
Rexsio
Well-Known Member
My 1985 Porsche was running on R-12 for 35 years blowing cold air .
Akanaten
Member
Battery Technology.
Q.) According to the press release, the MINI SE uses the last-gen i3 battery tech (94 Ah – 32.6 kWh)
rather than the 120 Ah battery used in the 2019 i3. If this is true, why was this done?
A.) A modified version of the 94Ah battery package is used and it repackaged to fit into the T-Pack used
in the Cooper SE. Therefore, the MINI Cooper SE has battery pack of 32.6 kWh and 28.9 kWh net.
Q.) Active liquid heating/cooling of battery? Uses A/C system to cool? Heat pump and/or waste heat
from motor to heat battery?
A.) The motor and battery utilize a water / glycol mixture for heating and cooling. Separate circuits are used,
utilizing a heat pump system.
Q.) According to the press release, the MINI SE uses the last-gen i3 battery tech (94 Ah – 32.6 kWh)
rather than the 120 Ah battery used in the 2019 i3. If this is true, why was this done?
A.) A modified version of the 94Ah battery package is used and it repackaged to fit into the T-Pack used
in the Cooper SE. Therefore, the MINI Cooper SE has battery pack of 32.6 kWh and 28.9 kWh net.
Q.) Active liquid heating/cooling of battery? Uses A/C system to cool? Heat pump and/or waste heat
from motor to heat battery?
A.) The motor and battery utilize a water / glycol mixture for heating and cooling. Separate circuits are used,
utilizing a heat pump system.
The i3 uses Korean Samsung batteries and the MINI Cooper SE uses Chinese CATL batteries, not repackaged Samsung batteries. MINI claims the CATL batteries work better in cold weather than the Samsung batteries.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
I would have to agree with MINI's claims based on my experience. Contrast with the (first generation) Fiat 500e or the Nissan Leaf, both of which have really poor cold weather behavior.
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
Samsung SDI prismatic cells have different cell dimensions, which is a little too tall for a MINI retrofit (housing, cooling system, etc.). Plus R-134a refrigerant has been phased out for 2021+ vehicles and switching to R-1234yf could be up to ten times as expensive!
The i3 120Ah battery is a change in battery chemistry from NCM 333 to NCM 622 where the 60Ah to 94Ah was more efficient packing per cell. Increased nickel content will provide a higher energy density, but it is more thermally unstable (NCM 333 is extremely thermally stable with higher $$$ cobalt ratios). Many of the Korean pouch cell manufacturers use 8-1-1 or 9.5-0.5-0.05 so only time will tell.
The i3 120Ah battery is a change in battery chemistry from NCM 333 to NCM 622 where the 60Ah to 94Ah was more efficient packing per cell. Increased nickel content will provide a higher energy density, but it is more thermally unstable (NCM 333 is extremely thermally stable with higher $$$ cobalt ratios). Many of the Korean pouch cell manufacturers use 8-1-1 or 9.5-0.5-0.05 so only time will tell.
Quiet Mini
Well-Known Member
This morning was -6F. My car was in an uninsulated garage all night. The car was preconditioned on a level 2 charger before leaving. It had 100% available e-power. At lunch time, it was +2F and the car had been outdoors for 5 hours. There was only ~60% available e-power. This single data point leads me to believe the battery can be warmed during preconditioning.
And I had exactly the opposite result. My SE was outside (single digit F) and plugged in (fully charged) and pre-conditioning set for 9:30. I got in the car at 9:30, colder than a brass monkey's goods, and the gauge said 50% battery. After I drove for 15 miles or so, the battery was 100% (the yellow gauge on the left). I was using the steering wheel heater (love it), the seat heater at medium, and the defrosters on (the slop on the road was making visibility terrible with using the windshield washers). As always, your mileage may vary.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
Climatization will warm the batteries, since climatization "works" the batteries to produce heat. And if you're plugged in during climatization the SE tries to keep the batteries charged to 100%.
My winter settings are to charge in a window so the charging finishes shortly before my departure time as well as climatization, ensuring batteries are warm. In non-winter I configure to charge at the start of my low-cost window, since I don't need warming of the batteries and I'll have a full charge ready to go.
Almost Green
Member
My understanding is the yellow gauge on the left shows how much your using. The gauge on the right is SOC.
methorian
Well-Known Member
Like someone else mentioned - the left gauge is a power meter. When it's not 100% yellow it just means that you're power limited (you can't get as much power from the batteries). It doesn't have anything to do with SoC (battery level), which is displayed on the right, or via the bottom right if you scroll through the available options.
MichaelC
Well-Known Member
More specifically, the yellow LEDs indicate how much power (and regen) is available, while the moving needle indicates how much power (or regen) you are using.
For example, high regen shows 2 yellow LEDs in the "Charge" section. Change it to low regen, and the second yellow LED turns off, showing you have less regen available.
The "E-Power" section of the gauge operates in the same way, turning off LEDs from the top to show how much power you are able to apply when accelerating. The power will be reduced when the batteries are too cold, too hot, or too depleted.
GvilleGuy
Well-Known Member
Well said!