As the temperature in northern China drops below zero, winter endurance has become an important test for BYD’s pure electric vehicles. The following will share the actual driving experience of three BYD pure electric vehicle owners in the northern winter.
Car owner 1: BYD Yuan
The owner of the car said that after he fully charged it on the morning of November 23, he used the car daily to transport his children to and from get off work and for transportation.
He mentioned that winter use does consume a lot of electricity, but it can travel more than 200 kilometers for every 30 yuan spent on electricity. Compared with the Jeep Compass he owned before, this is a quite cost-effective choice.
He pointed out that the fuel tank capacity of the Jeep Compass is 51 liters, the fuel price is 7.92 yuan/liter, and the cost of a full tank of fuel is about 400 yuan. In winter, driving about 300 kilometers requires about 16 fuel tanks, totaling about 260 yuan. Therefore, he believes that using BYD pure electric vehicles is still an economical and affordable option in winter.
Car Owner 2: Dolphin Free Edition, Heilongjiang
The car owner mentioned that when he first picked up the car, the temperature had not yet dropped to a low level. When it was about ten degrees above zero, the energy consumption was 10-12 kWh/100 kilometers, and the car could travel approximately 380 kilometers. However, as the daytime temperature dropped to around zero degrees in early November, energy consumption increased to 14-15 kWh/100 kilometers, and the cruising range was about 300 kilometers. Currently, the daytime temperature has dropped to about minus 17 degrees. When the air conditioner is turned on at 28 degrees Celsius, the energy consumption has reached 20 kWh/100 kilometers, and it can travel up to 220 kilometers. The car owner pointed out that lithium iron phosphate batteries are very sensitive to temperature. He also mentioned that he would conduct the test again when the temperature drops to minus 40 degrees during the extremely cold 39 days. Although he has no need for long-distance driving, he believes that even in the most power-consuming situation, the electricity bill per kilometer is only 0.06 yuan, which is much cheaper than using a fuel vehicle. He also mentioned that fuel vehicles in the Northeast also consume a lot of fuel in winter, and the cost per kilometer has reached 1.2 yuan.
The car owner also added that the heat pump air conditioner will produce some noise in cold weather. If there are many people in the car, the windshield needs to be blown for an extra period of time, and excessive wind speed will increase the noise. You need to wait for the fog on the windshield to dissipate before lowering the wind speed.
Car owner three: BYD Song Pro DMi, Heilongjiang
The first winter of BYD Song Pro DMi has arrived, and the fuel consumption is extremely high. The power consumption in spring, summer and autumn is about 4.5, but as the temperature drops, the fuel consumption skyrockets to 7-8 or even higher after turning on the heater. Not sure if it’s a personal issue or a general phenomenon.
When the air conditioner is turned on in summer, whether it is a long distance or a short distance, the fuel consumption is basically within 5 when driving at a constant speed. If the foot is heavier, the fuel consumption may be slightly higher, but the impact will not be significant. When driving on the highway at a speed of 110-120, the fuel consumption is stable within a certain range. After exceeding 120, the fuel consumption will further increase. The faster the speed, the higher the fuel consumption.
When the heater is turned on in winter and the temperature is set between 23-26 degrees, fuel consumption rises linearly, an increase of nearly 4 points compared with summer. Therefore, for situations related to power consumption, it is best to have a garage to keep the vehicle warm.
Since I am located in the northeastern region, the current temperature has dropped to more than 20 degrees below zero. In the past, when using a fuel vehicle, I used to warm up the car first. Now, even if it is a plug-in hybrid model, I still warm up the car. Because if I don’t warm up the car, I find that the engine is noisy when it suddenly kicks in and the acceleration is poor. Once the car is warmed up, these problems disappear.
BYD New Energy’s tips for saving fuel in winter
For example: BYD’s initial logic is as follows: when turning on the air conditioner in winter, the heater will be turned on when the battery is low, and the PTC and engine will be turned on at the same time. The engine will heat the coolant temperature, and after charging the battery to a set higher SOC threshold, the engine will stop running and the vehicle will rely on the battery to drive. However, it should be noted that the air conditioner temperature cannot be set too high, otherwise it will affect the heating effect of the air conditioner.
Later, after BYD upgraded via OTA, its logic changed. Now, when the battery charge is high, turning on the air conditioning will simultaneously start the engine and continue to heat the coolant temperature. The negative impact of this is that power consumption and fuel consumption will increase significantly. Based on this, is it possible to manually intervene in EV or HEV mode?
Last night I conducted the experiment in temperatures of minus 7 degrees. I force the battery to stay at 25% and set the air conditioner temperature to 27 degrees. After starting the engine to warm up, I manually switched to EV mode when the SOC was above 27%. It was found that the fuel consumption was indeed reduced and the temperature inside the car was also very comfortable. Of course, the air conditioning might not be that hot, but it was more than enough, after all we were wearing thick coats. If you can’t be bothered, try this to balance comfort and energy consumption. If you are interested, give it a try.