Sleep in e-Golf with A/C on overnight idle and even charging

[CyberPine]

I've heard there is a way to do it with Tesla and that the Volt recently disabled it turning the car off after 30 minutes.

Anybody try this with their e-Golf?

Run the A/C overnight while parked/idle and all the lights off ? Possible? how much battery would that consume?

Do all of the above while parked at a charging station? If even possible, would A/C draw from the plug before the battery?

I suspect none of this is possible and did not even cross the engineers minds during design, but I would see these as an easy, yet huge features.

 

[JoulesThief]

Sleeping in a car or with the air conditioner on is not one of the German engineers design parameters. Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?

 

[dublectric]

Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?

Here in New England I'd hazard a guess that EVs are not nearly as popular as they are in California. However there are still a moderate number of charging stations that are often under-subscribed, especially those out in the suburbs. Case in point: there's a supermarket nearby that has 8 GE WattStations for public use. There is no posted time limit, and of the 8 spaces, I've never seen more than 4 of them being parked in at a time, and almost always those that are there are all ICE cars.

I don't see a problem with parking in an EV spot for more than an arbitrary self-imposed time period, as long as (1) there is no such actual limit posted, and (2) there are no other plug-in vehicles that are waiting to charge. In my area of the country that's often true.

Have you never taken a long solo road trip, and found that at 3am you just can't keep your eyes open? Pulling over at a rest-area for a nap in your car is a time-honored tradition, and frankly is the safe thing to do. This can easily be accomplished without a motorhome BTW

I'm sure that if you ask 100 different EV drivers what their driving habits are, you'd get 100 different answers. I don't find it out of the question that someone like CyberPine might want to attempt a longer-distance road trip that might require multiple charging stops. In fact, to me that sounds like a great adventure. I don't think it's a bad thing at all to try to plan such a trip. I've had many longer road trips back in the ICE-powered days where I've had to pull over for a nap; why not do the same thing in an EV, and top up the charge at the same time? As long as you're not blocking access to a charger that another plug-in owner needs, it seems reasonable to me. Even if there is a posted time limit, one could always post a note on the window or at the charge port, saying "If it's after 3:00 and you need the charger, feel free to wake me" ... I'm sure that would be perfectly acceptable charging etiquette.

Do all of the above while parked at a charging station? If even possible, would A/C draw from the plug before the battery?

I've tried using the A/C while plugged into a charger. Unfortunately when you're plugged into a charger, the car won't let you turn on the "ignition". It *will* turn on in accessory mode, so you can operate the Infotainment, power windows, climate control fan, etc... however the A/C compressor itself won't appear to run even though the yellow "A/C" indicator is on... oh well

I believe there is a way to use CarNet to turn on climate control while your car is plugged in - but I don't know if that can be done while you're inside the car, and don't know if any of the other accessories (e.g. infotainment) can be used or not.

 

[JoulesThief]

Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?

Here in New England I'd hazard a guess that EVs are not nearly as popular as they are in California. However there are still a moderate number of charging stations that are often under-subscribed, especially those out in the suburbs. Case in point: there's a supermarket nearby that has 8 GE WattStations for public use. There is no posted time limit, and of the 8 spaces, I've never seen more than 4 of them being parked in at a time, and almost always those that are there are all ICE cars.

I don't see a problem with parking in an EV spot for more than an arbitrary self-imposed time period, as long as (1) there is no such actual limit posted, and (2) there are no other plug-in vehicles that are waiting to charge. In my area of the country that's often true.

Have you never taken a long solo road trip, and found that at 3am you just can't keep your eyes open? Pulling over at a rest-area for a nap in your car is a time-honored tradition, and frankly is the safe thing to do. This can easily be accomplished without a motorhome BTW

I'm sure that if you ask 100 different EV drivers what their driving habits are, you'd get 100 different answers. I don't find it out of the question that someone like CyberPine might want to attempt a longer-distance road trip that might require multiple charging stops. In fact, to me that sounds like a great adventure. I don't think it's a bad thing at all to try to plan such a trip. I've had many longer road trips back in the ICE-powered days where I've had to pull over for a nap; why not do the same thing in an EV, and top up the charge at the same time? As long as you're not blocking access to a charger that another plug-in owner needs, it seems reasonable to me. Even if there is a posted time limit, one could always post a note on the window or at the charge port, saying "If it's after 3:00 and you need the charger, feel free to wake me" ... I'm sure that would be perfectly acceptable charging etiquette.

Do all of the above while parked at a charging station? If even possible, would A/C draw from the plug before the battery?

I've tried using the A/C while plugged into a charger. Unfortunately when you're plugged into a charger, the car won't let you turn on the "ignition". It *will* turn on in accessory mode, so you can operate the Infotainment, power windows, climate control fan, etc... however the A/C compressor itself won't appear to run even though the yellow "A/C" indicator is on... oh well

I believe there is a way to use CarNet to turn on climate control while your car is plugged in - but I don't know if that can be done while you're inside the car, and don't know if any of the other accessories (e.g. infotainment) can be used or not.

He asked about Florida. I've no idea if that's his residence, or if he lives down there. It's nice to think about using an EV for a long distance trip, but currently, I prefer to use the right tool for the job, a TDI. Read your owner's manual, VW does not recommend DC charging with a stage 3 DC SAE outlet back to back. They would like you to mix it up with regular Stage 2 7.2Kwh chargers in between. A regular diet of stage 3 charging, with the battery pack not having cooling is a design limitation for 30 to 30 minute charging, and will shorten the life of the batteries.

 

[CyberPine]

Sleeping in a car or with the air conditioner on is not one of the German engineers design parameters. Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?

Thanks... just trying to gather facts and information.

Anyways ... Not looking to break any local laws or god forbid be inconsiderate. .. but you are seriously going to tell me you would not be interested in staying inside the car while it's charging for at least a an hour or 2?

Check this out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33jmU-vY058


Like many people, I do a lot from my car, including work, eat and sometimes .. yes nap and even sleep..I've done other stuff Engineers did not plan for either I'm sure .. and I know I'm not alone. We currently have a 2015 VW Golf TSI as a second car and I will admit I've slept in the back (quite comfortably) rather than try to drive 3 hours back from the Florida Keys on Saturday night at 3am for safety reasons that are very considerate to others actually. I've never done this with the engine running out of fear of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

I'm somewhat confident that the suggested features of A/C while charging and A/C Overnight while in idle will be standard features on all EVs in less than 2 years based only on it just making sense and demand for it.

Thanks.

 

[Sparky]

Good question, and yes, I do this almost daily (as my round trip commute exceeds the eGolf's range and it's nice run the AC while topping off the tank). As dubelectric said, you can use CarNet to control the simultaneous charging and climate control of the eGolf. The HVAC can be engaged via CarNet inside or outside the vehicle while it charges (with the vehicle locked and ignition powered down).

Sleeping in a car or with the air conditioner on is not one of the German engineers design parameters. Furthermore camping out overnight in front of a two hour parking limit charging station for two, four, or more hours or overnight charging station when other people need to recharge might be considered inconsiderate. Perhaps you should consider a motorhome for your travel needs and sleeping needs on the road?

Thanks... just trying to gather facts and information.

Anyways ... Not looking to break any local laws or god forbid be inconsiderate. .. but you are seriously going to tell me you would not be interested in staying inside the car while it's charging for at least a an hour or 2?

Check this out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33jmU-vY058


Like many people, I do a lot from my car, including work, eat and sometimes .. yes nap and even sleep..I've done other stuff Engineers did not plan for either I'm sure .. and I know I'm not alone. We currently have a 2015 VW Golf TSI as a second car and I will admit I've slept in the back (quite comfortably) rather than try to drive 3 hours back from the Florida Keys on Saturday night at 3am for safety reasons that are very considerate to others actually. I've never done this with the engine running out of fear of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning.

I'm somewhat confident that the suggested features of A/C while charging and A/C Overnight while in idle will be standard features on all EVs in less than 2 years based only on it just making sense and demand for it.

Thanks.

 

[SpdLmtNA]

Well, I recently switched from a Leaf to an e-Golf, and with regards to your question about the A/C, I believe this is where the ugly little Nissan has the german e-Golf in its beak:

Leaf Unplugged:
- Cannot enable climate control remotely while unplugged.
- CAN Leave climate control ON while the car is turned on, leave the car, and lock it (nice for quick grocery runs).

Leaf Plugged:
- Cannot enable climate control while plugged in when the car is fully charged.
- CAN enable climate control while plugged in when the car is NOT fully charged and draw the power from the grid (not the car's battery).
- CAN enable climate control via remote app while plugged in (via timer also available).

e-Golf Unplugged:
- CAN enable climate control via remote app while unplugged (via timer/schedule also available).
- Cannot Leave climate control ON while the car is turned on, leave the car, and lock it. Workaround: Open carnet from your phone and turned it on manually, but you need to enable "Climate Control while unplugged" feature from the carnet website.

e-Golf Plugged:
- Cannot enable climate control while plugged in without using the timer/scheduler. You will need to set the timer/scheduler or manually turn it on.
- CAN enable climate control via remote app while plugged in (as mentioned: via timer also available).