Beat the heat
It's 100 degrees outside. Can I leave my Volt in a parking lot with the power on, lock the doors and shop for an hour? Actually, I already know I can and the 75 degree interior when I return is heavenly. It uses about as much power as it would take to travel 5 miles. I guess the real question is: does this damage the car in any way?
4 Answers
How low was the battery after sitting with the AC on for an hour? The lower you drain the battery, the shorter the battery life.
Still had about 2/3 charge. The battery on the Volt is never completely drained. The generator kicks on when it gets low.
I see no harm. Post this question on a Volt forum but no doubt the greenies will go into hysterics at the idea.
Other EV's can do this as well. The Tesla can actually be programmed to cool the interior automatically when it reaches a threshold temperature, like 100 degrees. Granted, the Tesla has a very large battery pack to draw on...
