So who's getting an i3?
Discussion
RossP said:
12:02:53 The information provided by Mat is correct, the heat pump is required for the fully electric vehicle to heat the cabin of the BMW i3.
It's so confusing, if you can pre-heat REx like the BMW engineer confirmed then that makes no sense! I won't bother copying the BMW correspondence I've had about this because it'll muddy the water even further. I think asking the dealer to check their own demo cars is the safest bet, Ross maybe you can do the same ?
I had a similar conversation with BMW about the multi-function steering wheel spec (which I won't go into because it was boring as hell) but that stemmed from inaccurate info on the website which is why I've been trying to double check things.
Edited by mids on Tuesday 26th November 12:24
RossP said:
Apparently the heat pump is only used for pre-heating, which will obviously save some battery power.
Check out this quote from the BMW press release:"And an optional interior heating system based on the principle of a heat pump uses up to 30 percent less energy in city driving than conventional electric heating."
skilly1 said:
I asked the dealer the exact same question, why do I need another heater for when it is plugged, why not use the heater installed. He had no idea.
My limited knowledge thoughts are the heater needs to run off the very high voltage battery pack and the mains plug is not powerful enough to run it.
The heat pump will use about 1/3 of the electricity of a typical resistave heater to provide the same cabin heat.My limited knowledge thoughts are the heater needs to run off the very high voltage battery pack and the mains plug is not powerful enough to run it.
RossP said:
Apparently the heat pump is only used for pre-heating, which will obviously save some battery power. Just been on to BMW online support:
Matt: 10:33:39 Yes, it's function is to purely heat the cabin temperature to the desired level. The benefits are that you can pre heat the cabin whilst your vehicle is plugged in on charge, which minimises the use of electric whilst driving and thus increases the range. Please give me a moment to look into the length of time it takes to heat up without the heat pump.
10:45:33 Thank you for your patience Ross, Without the Heat Pump, the BMW i3 will take around the same time as a conventional vehicle as the vehicle needs to generate the heat. We do not have any set times though.
Worrying advice or design there.....?Matt: 10:33:39 Yes, it's function is to purely heat the cabin temperature to the desired level. The benefits are that you can pre heat the cabin whilst your vehicle is plugged in on charge, which minimises the use of electric whilst driving and thus increases the range. Please give me a moment to look into the length of time it takes to heat up without the heat pump.
10:45:33 Thank you for your patience Ross, Without the Heat Pump, the BMW i3 will take around the same time as a conventional vehicle as the vehicle needs to generate the heat. We do not have any set times though.
The initial Leaf used a resistive heater to heat coolant which was then pumped into the cabin with a typical heater matrix. The BMW can not be using waste heat from the EV motor so i can only assume it has the same system as the leaf where you have a similar heat demand lag as you wait for the heater fluid to warm up...
Of course thanks to the Zoe progress Nissan now use the heat pump on higher spec 2013 Leafs.
JonnyVTEC said:
skilly1 said:
I asked the dealer the exact same question, why do I need another heater for when it is plugged, why not use the heater installed. He had no idea.
My limited knowledge thoughts are the heater needs to run off the very high voltage battery pack and the mains plug is not powerful enough to run it.
The heat pump will use about 1/3 of the electricity of a typical resistave heater to provide the same cabin heat.My limited knowledge thoughts are the heater needs to run off the very high voltage battery pack and the mains plug is not powerful enough to run it.
I think electric cars shouldn't be called cars - its another type of vehicle - a car has an internal combustion engine.
Why I like them
Cheap to run if you only go to the shops
Goverment gives you loads of money to buy one (at the moment)
Leaves more petrol for proper cars to use
Why I don't like them
All the affordable ones fell off the ugly transporter
Unbearable green bores usually drive them
They aren't actually that green compared to an eco diesel when you take into account construction and disposal of the vehicle
If you want to go on a long journey you need to make some serious route planning to ensure you have somewhere to charge it. And what if its busy/broken - not like being 2nd at the petrol pump is it!
If you haven't got a garage, live in a flat, or a house with no driveway you can't charge it when you get home.
They sound rubbish
Constant changes in technology could make them prematurely obselete - Bluray/HD DVD type situation
Why I like them
Cheap to run if you only go to the shops
Goverment gives you loads of money to buy one (at the moment)
Leaves more petrol for proper cars to use
Why I don't like them
All the affordable ones fell off the ugly transporter
Unbearable green bores usually drive them
They aren't actually that green compared to an eco diesel when you take into account construction and disposal of the vehicle
If you want to go on a long journey you need to make some serious route planning to ensure you have somewhere to charge it. And what if its busy/broken - not like being 2nd at the petrol pump is it!
If you haven't got a garage, live in a flat, or a house with no driveway you can't charge it when you get home.
They sound rubbish
Constant changes in technology could make them prematurely obselete - Bluray/HD DVD type situation
Notanotherturbo said:
I think electric cars shouldn't be called cars - its another type of vehicle - a car has an internal combustion engine.
Why I like them
Cheap to run if you only go to the shopsBizarre idea i commute 43 miles a day
Goverment gives you loads of money to buy one (at the moment) I like this fact also
Leaves more petrol for proper cars to use Who wants the last gallon of petrol to be used in something dull
Why I don't like them
All the affordable ones fell off the ugly transporter Are you telling me that my micra is good looking?
Unbearable green bores usually drive them not in my experience
They aren't actually that green compared to an eco diesel when you take into account construction and disposal of the vehicle Yet another case of organically grown cars
If you want to go on a long journey you need to make some serious route planning to ensure you have somewhere to charge it. And what if its busy/broken - not like being 2nd at the petrol pump is it! Buy a petrol car they aren't illegal
If you haven't got a garage, live in a flat, or a house with no driveway you can't charge it when you get home. Buy a petrol car they aren't illegal
They sound rubbish No they are silent which means they sound a million time better then the UKs best selling car
Constant changes in technology could make them prematurely obselete - Bluray/HD DVD type situation And this doesn't apply to petrol cars how?
Why I like them
Cheap to run if you only go to the shopsBizarre idea i commute 43 miles a day
Goverment gives you loads of money to buy one (at the moment) I like this fact also
Leaves more petrol for proper cars to use Who wants the last gallon of petrol to be used in something dull
Why I don't like them
All the affordable ones fell off the ugly transporter Are you telling me that my micra is good looking?
Unbearable green bores usually drive them not in my experience
They aren't actually that green compared to an eco diesel when you take into account construction and disposal of the vehicle Yet another case of organically grown cars
If you want to go on a long journey you need to make some serious route planning to ensure you have somewhere to charge it. And what if its busy/broken - not like being 2nd at the petrol pump is it! Buy a petrol car they aren't illegal
If you haven't got a garage, live in a flat, or a house with no driveway you can't charge it when you get home. Buy a petrol car they aren't illegal
They sound rubbish No they are silent which means they sound a million time better then the UKs best selling car
Constant changes in technology could make them prematurely obselete - Bluray/HD DVD type situation And this doesn't apply to petrol cars how?
McWigglebum4th said:
I think you've misunderstood the jist of my post. Not suggesting for one second I want one, just pointing out some advantages/disadvantages. There are lots of cars that aren't attractive (but if you don't want an ugly Micra you can buy a good looking Fiesta) currently all the full electric vehicles are pretty hideous in my opinion.And what I meant by the becoming obselete is its new technology that is developing very fast with different manufacturers trying different approaches - full electric, range extender hybrids etc - only one of these approaches is likely to become popular and then the others will disappear.
Edited by Notanotherturbo on Tuesday 26th November 14:59
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