First, awesome video to show the real world benefits of pre-conditioning the battery. Second, even more impressive is that you helped out Gary -- speaks volumes to your character and your compassion as a human being to help him out on a dangerously cold day there in Denver. I did not see anyone else pulling over to help Gary out, and at those temps, it sure doesn't take long for hypothermia or frost bite to set in if a person does not have appropriate cold weather gear on. I have always liked your channel and how you present your information, but I have serious respect for you as a human being--you helped out another at a time of serious need, and I think that is AWESOME! By the way, I don't own a Rivian yet (maybe an R2?), and I heard Rivian was working on a heat pump--any word on where they're at with that? I love Rivian's engineering but was surprised to hear they do not have separate heat pumps.
Thank you SOOO much for this very sweet comment. I try my best but fall short often. Luckily I was in the right place at the right time to help out Gary (Elizabeth showed up about 10 minutes later). He was starting toward hypothermia when I stopped so it was a dangerous situation in more than one way. Thank you for following along with the channel as well. I’ve had a tough schedule recently - lots of family stuff, and it’s a “family first” operation so the channel gets shorted at times. But, I enjoy doing it so I’ll be plugging away. Probably going to work on some non-Rivian content as well so stay tuned for that. As for the heat pump, that’s not something I know a lot about, but I know people who know. :) I’ll ask around. Thanks again for commenting! Best - Scott
Snow... Yay... November last year was my 1st time going overseas to Japan and feeling the snow plus how 0 degree celsius feels like, and what you said regarding to the impact of cold weather without proper gear was right, I'm getting a bit of snow blind and a bit of headache because of that. As tropical. Country residence that always wanted to live in snowy parts of the world, that visit surely make me rethink of my wish...
Great info RivDad. The idea of preconditioning with grid power seems like a no-brainer for cold weather. The lastest OTA update with this feature is another great improvement from the Rivian software team.
I had the chance to talk to the chief software engineer in California recently - super sharp (and cool) dude. I have high confidence in their team and it seems that Rivian has a heavy emphasis on making lots of good code. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the test! I'm curious what the total energy consumed looks like. How many kWh are used to condition the battery from the wall vs on the road from the battery?
Legend! Thanks for the shoutout. Loved seeing the differences and great to get an understanding how Rivian preconditions the battery not just the climate 🤙🏼
Thanks so much for sharing. You may want to get the tire pressures to spec for a truer apple to apple comparison. It won’t impact your overall results, but too low a psi will impact efficiency as well
My Dude - I’m here!! Yeah, it’s been a slow release schedule for the last couple of months. Sorry but a bunch of family stuff has gotten in the way. All is well, but it’s a “family first” operation ‘round here. Thanks for hanging around - more to come!!
I have an R1S for little over a year. I live in Seattle and this weekend I charged the car higher to go the mountain for skiing. I am surprised to see it took about the same amount of charge to go up compared to other times. This time I was driving a bit slower because of the road condition, but also, it was 25F lower than my driving there other times. It’s nice to see that frigid cold doesn’t impact the range much compared to regular cold.
I agree. We also have a Volkswagen E-golf, which is terrible in the cold weather. It loses about half of its range. Apparently in the last few years EV companies have figured out how to better handle the cold weather. I have noticed that the regen often stops working when it’s cold outside, but range doesn’t seem to be that impacted.
love your videos thanks for doing them. Also thanks for being a good Samaritan! Any idea how much poser the pre-conditioning took from the house current? I know that was not part of the test, but wondering if the truck were not plugged in how much drain would it cause on the battery to pre-condition? Thanks again Mark
I don’t know. That would be a good test to do though - measure the “phantom drain “of the Rivian when it’s just sitting idle. I’m sure the engineers know this but unfortunately it’s not public info as far as I know. So we’d have to do some testing. Someday I will have a smart panel and can measure the output, not at the moment though. Thanks for the comment. And thanks for watching.
What an outstanding video. I have the update but would have never thought the range impact was that much. I wonder how many kWh it takes to precondition the R1? No clue how to even measure that. I keep my R1S in my garage in Philly area - so warmer than sitting in driveway but I’m impressed your truck warmed up at -6 in drive. Thx for doing this informative and cold video.
@@RivianDad It's quite energy intensive to warm the battery. In my 20s-30s degree garage my car pulls about 2kwh in a 10-15 minute burst roughly every 3 hours, all while at full charge. So, presumably that is going to keeping the battery at acceptable temperature. But, that is 16 kwh per day, and if the car is not being driven that is all going to waste. 16kwh is ballpark 30-40 miles worth of driving energy, so it is no joke the amount of energy that is being drawn in order to keep the battery ready to operate at any moment.
To precondition, do you simply set the cabin to heat (and when it's really hot in the summer, to cool)? Do you set it to a certain temperature? Is there a reason that there isn't an option that clearly states "precondition battery?" I'm new to all of this, but am loving my R1S that I picked up on December 30th! And I agree with Jmaninaz1, a really classy and compassionate move to help Gary.
Thanks. I couldn’t let Gary just stand there in the cold! Yes, there were some people who drove by but I was one of the first on the scene and was happy to help. As to the precondition, I don’t know all the ins and outs. Honestly, that was my first time actually using it. But I do believe it just simply preconditions the battery as well as conditions the space (which you could already to, just not on a “schedule”). I’ll have to do some more research. Thanks for watching and congrats on the R1S - you’re going to love it. One bit of advice, though, if you’re in an area with snowy roads, get some proper snow tires!
I too wish there was a 'precondition' option as well, but like you, l love every other facet of my R1S. As temps get colder, I do warm the cabin for a few mins before taking off as a way to precondition. I hear even using the seat warmers in advance help. Haven't done the opposite just yet in the summer time as I took delivery in late October. Makes a slight difference from what I am seeing, but its nothing scientific.
@@RivianDad Hi Scott, but even in the cold, I check my tire pressure. Air up before you drive as yours are significantly lower than the normal setting of 48 psi. Thanks for the video and info.
Wondering about overall efficiency of preconditioning vs not. Did you travel the same route/distance with both vehicles? What was the total kWh usage with each drive, and added kWh used to precondition the R1T? Thx
Thats what I would like to know. How much energy was used to precondition and the total energy used per trip, vs no preconditioning and just driving to and from.
None at all. it was the kind of snow and cold that wasn’t wet so not a lot of ice. I’ve never had a problem with that though. Last year when it was 13 below, I had a problem with the suspension. I think there was some moisture in the suspension so it couldn’t change drive modes. But then it fixed itself once it warmed up.
Nice video but whether you warm up the car while plugged in or warm it up on the road and charge it later, it's the same energy. Arguably less if you do it on the road as plugged in, some of the heat is lost while doing nothing.
Good point. But I imagine not preconditioning would have a bigger impact on range. Like going up to the mountains for an early morning ski trip. Yes, you probably use more energy that way, but you wouldn’t get as far. Not a big difference but worth considering. Thx for commenting!
@@RivianDad Yep agreed. When every bit of range is needed or you want a cozy car to get into, this is the way to go. I find the heating system in the R1S to react pretty quick, especially the seat and steering heaters. Spent last weekend in the teens and was happy with the performance.
So did you precondition with grid power or battery. If battery, how does this drain, if included in the calcs, affect the efficiency as compared to just driving it cold and letting it warm up.
I did this test couple times on the way to work (21 miles) with the unusually cold days in Dallas of 15 degree. Without pre conditioning the Rivian lost about 4% extra ( approximately 12 miles) compared to preconditioned battery.
Am I correct in assuming that your starting tire pressure in the R1T at 41psi is because of the cold temps? Or do you keep it a little lower for improved traction over snow? That will of course decrease efficiency also. Thanks for the great videos!
Yes, the tires are inflated to proper pressure. I noticed that they were low as well. According to the inter webs, “Colder temperatures will cause tire pressure to drop about 1 pound per square inch for every 10° F drop in air temperature.” So, if you do the math, it’s pretty close to expected. Thanks for the comment!
I don’t know how much energy was required. I set up the preconditioning about two hours earlier. I don’t know when it actually started doing its thing.
Yes, I know, it’s also a smaller battery so less time needed for charging. And because of the increase in efficiency, it can get a lot more range. On the other hand, I can take the Rivian rock crawling, load it with a bunch of dirt, or wade it in 3 feet of water. Just as a sidenote, the efficiency rates for the Rivian are higher than the lightning, Hummer and cyber truck.
First, awesome video to show the real world benefits of pre-conditioning the battery. Second, even more impressive is that you helped out Gary -- speaks volumes to your character and your compassion as a human being to help him out on a dangerously cold day there in Denver. I did not see anyone else pulling over to help Gary out, and at those temps, it sure doesn't take long for hypothermia or frost bite to set in if a person does not have appropriate cold weather gear on. I have always liked your channel and how you present your information, but I have serious respect for you as a human being--you helped out another at a time of serious need, and I think that is AWESOME! By the way, I don't own a Rivian yet (maybe an R2?), and I heard Rivian was working on a heat pump--any word on where they're at with that? I love Rivian's engineering but was surprised to hear they do not have separate heat pumps.
Thank you SOOO much for this very sweet comment. I try my best but fall short often. Luckily I was in the right place at the right time to help out Gary (Elizabeth showed up about 10 minutes later). He was starting toward hypothermia when I stopped so it was a dangerous situation in more than one way.
Thank you for following along with the channel as well. I’ve had a tough schedule recently - lots of family stuff, and it’s a “family first” operation so the channel gets shorted at times. But, I enjoy doing it so I’ll be plugging away. Probably going to work on some non-Rivian content as well so stay tuned for that.
As for the heat pump, that’s not something I know a lot about, but I know people who know. :) I’ll ask around.
Thanks again for commenting! Best - Scott
Snow... Yay... November last year was my 1st time going overseas to Japan and feeling the snow plus how 0 degree celsius feels like, and what you said regarding to the impact of cold weather without proper gear was right, I'm getting a bit of snow blind and a bit of headache because of that. As tropical. Country residence that always wanted to live in snowy parts of the world, that visit surely make me rethink of my wish...
You just converted me to becoming a Rivian "pre-conditioner" with this video. Keep up the great work and stay warm!
An important decision in this weather. :-) Thanks.
Awesome video and so nice of you to help out that couple . Cheers.
Thanks! I couldn’t just let him freeze! It was simple. Thanks for watching.
@@RivianDad true , only if everyone thought the same way the world would be a much better place .
Love the comparison and happy to see you helping out those in need! Goes to show how important preconditioning is when it’s cold out!
Great info RivDad. The idea of preconditioning with grid power seems like a no-brainer for cold weather. The lastest OTA update with this feature is another great improvement from the Rivian software team.
I had the chance to talk to the chief software engineer in California recently - super sharp (and cool) dude. I have high confidence in their team and it seems that Rivian has a heavy emphasis on making lots of good code. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the test!
I'm curious what the total energy consumed looks like. How many kWh are used to condition the battery from the wall vs on the road from the battery?
Legend! Thanks for the shoutout.
Loved seeing the differences and great to get an understanding how Rivian preconditions the battery not just the climate 🤙🏼
Happy to. Thanks again for the suggestion! Have a great new year and stay warm out there!!
Thanks so much for sharing. You may want to get the tire pressures to spec for a truer apple to apple comparison. It won’t impact your overall results, but too low a psi will impact efficiency as well
Yeah. The low PSI had a lot to do with the cold. Thx
THERE HE IS! I was asking around about where you been my dude
My Dude - I’m here!! Yeah, it’s been a slow release schedule for the last couple of months. Sorry but a bunch of family stuff has gotten in the way. All is well, but it’s a “family first” operation ‘round here. Thanks for hanging around - more to come!!
I have an R1S for little over a year. I live in Seattle and this weekend I charged the car higher to go the mountain for skiing. I am surprised to see it took about the same amount of charge to go up compared to other times. This time I was driving a bit slower because of the road condition, but also, it was 25F lower than my driving there other times. It’s nice to see that frigid cold doesn’t impact the range much compared to regular cold.
I agree. We also have a Volkswagen E-golf, which is terrible in the cold weather. It loses about half of its range. Apparently in the last few years EV companies have figured out how to better handle the cold weather. I have noticed that the regen often stops working when it’s cold outside, but range doesn’t seem to be that impacted.
Well done. I'm going to try the preconditioning here in Dallas tomorrow morning
It’s cozy
Hey, i recognize those roads!
My wife and i have a model 3 with snow tires, but maybe we'll get a Rivian next!
Snow tires are key. I just got a set on both the R1S and the R1T today.
love your videos thanks for doing them. Also thanks for being a good Samaritan!
Any idea how much poser the pre-conditioning took from the house current? I know that was not part of the test, but wondering if the truck were not plugged in how much drain would it cause on the battery to pre-condition?
Thanks again
Mark
I don’t know. That would be a good test to do though - measure the “phantom drain “of the Rivian when it’s just sitting idle. I’m sure the engineers know this but unfortunately it’s not public info as far as I know. So we’d have to do some testing. Someday I will have a smart panel and can measure the output, not at the moment though. Thanks for the comment. And thanks for watching.
Flgreat video and nice way to compare. I will think the tire preasure will make a difference since that will put more resistance in the tires
i like to know how many kws it take to precondition....if you only driving short distant... it may be not wroth it...imo
Don’t know. I agree that it might be a waste of energy for short trips. But for very cold weather, and longer commutes, I think it’s very helpful.
What an outstanding video. I have the update but would have never thought the range impact was that much. I wonder how many kWh it takes to precondition the R1? No clue how to even measure that. I keep my R1S in my garage in Philly area - so warmer than sitting in driveway but I’m impressed your truck warmed up at -6 in drive. Thx for doing this informative and cold video.
Thanks for watching and commenting! I don’t know how much juice it uses to precondition the battery but for me, it’s totally worth it.
@@RivianDad It's quite energy intensive to warm the battery. In my 20s-30s degree garage my car pulls about 2kwh in a 10-15 minute burst roughly every 3 hours, all while at full charge. So, presumably that is going to keeping the battery at acceptable temperature. But, that is 16 kwh per day, and if the car is not being driven that is all going to waste. 16kwh is ballpark 30-40 miles worth of driving energy, so it is no joke the amount of energy that is being drawn in order to keep the battery ready to operate at any moment.
@@kyleyost you’re right. That’s some serious phantom power.
Good video!
Thanks!!
To precondition, do you simply set the cabin to heat (and when it's really hot in the summer, to cool)? Do you set it to a certain temperature? Is there a reason that there isn't an option that clearly states "precondition battery?" I'm new to all of this, but am loving my R1S that I picked up on December 30th! And I agree with Jmaninaz1, a really classy and compassionate move to help Gary.
Thanks. I couldn’t let Gary just stand there in the cold! Yes, there were some people who drove by but I was one of the first on the scene and was happy to help.
As to the precondition, I don’t know all the ins and outs. Honestly, that was my first time actually using it. But I do believe it just simply preconditions the battery as well as conditions the space (which you could already to, just not on a “schedule”). I’ll have to do some more research. Thanks for watching and congrats on the R1S - you’re going to love it. One bit of advice, though, if you’re in an area with snowy roads, get some proper snow tires!
I too wish there was a 'precondition' option as well, but like you, l love every other facet of my R1S. As temps get colder, I do warm the cabin for a few mins before taking off as a way to precondition. I hear even using the seat warmers in advance help. Haven't done the opposite just yet in the summer time as I took delivery in late October. Makes a slight difference from what I am seeing, but its nothing scientific.
Yes, I do own gloves - it's just really hard to run a camera with gloves on.
Heated steering wheel works really well. 😅
@@wdavis5758 yes! I’m surprised at how often I use the heating on the steering wheel actually.
Probably need to air up those tires too! 40#....
You noticed that they were low. They’re aired up but when it gets that cold, the pressure drops. Thanks for watching!
@@RivianDad Hi Scott, but even in the cold, I check my tire pressure. Air up before you drive as yours are significantly lower than the normal setting of 48 psi. Thanks for the video and info.
Wondering about overall efficiency of preconditioning vs not. Did you travel the same route/distance with both vehicles? What was the total kWh usage with each drive, and added kWh used to precondition the R1T? Thx
Thats what I would like to know. How much energy was used to precondition and the total energy used per trip, vs no preconditioning and just driving to and from.
Any issues in the cold with the door handles not opening properly (aka being frozen shut?) or are the motors strong enough to push them out?
None at all. it was the kind of snow and cold that wasn’t wet so not a lot of ice. I’ve never had a problem with that though. Last year when it was 13 below, I had a problem with the suspension. I think there was some moisture in the suspension so it couldn’t change drive modes. But then it fixed itself once it warmed up.
This is all fine and dandy for those who have home charging ( Level 2), but what about those who dont or rely upon DC fast charging?
It is my understanding that you can still precondition without being plugged in but it would take battery/range so may be a wash (or loss) in the end.
@@RivianDad yes, you precondition without being on grid, but that defeats the purpose of saving range.
Insane road conditions!!!!
@mcdjames1 - this one's for you!
Nice video but whether you warm up the car while plugged in or warm it up on the road and charge it later, it's the same energy. Arguably less if you do it on the road as plugged in, some of the heat is lost while doing nothing.
Good point. But I imagine not preconditioning would have a bigger impact on range. Like going up to the mountains for an early morning ski trip. Yes, you probably use more energy that way, but you wouldn’t get as far. Not a big difference but worth considering. Thx for commenting!
@@RivianDad Yep agreed. When every bit of range is needed or you want a cozy car to get into, this is the way to go. I find the heating system in the R1S to react pretty quick, especially the seat and steering heaters. Spent last weekend in the teens and was happy with the performance.
So did you precondition with grid power or battery. If battery, how does this drain, if included in the calcs, affect the efficiency as compared to just driving it cold and letting it warm up.
it was plugged in to the charger unit for preconditioning. Not sure about the efficiency vs drain equation.
The power of over the air updates!! How much range did the pre-conditioning take- did you notice?
There was no way to tell. It was plugged in, while it was preconditioning.
I did this test couple times on the way to work (21 miles) with the unusually cold days in Dallas of 15 degree. Without pre conditioning the Rivian lost about 4% extra ( approximately 12 miles) compared to preconditioned battery.
Am I correct in assuming that your starting tire pressure in the R1T at 41psi is because of the cold temps? Or do you keep it a little lower for improved traction over snow?
That will of course decrease efficiency also.
Thanks for the great videos!
Mine was at a stated 48 in normal Temps. Read 42 this morning at minus 4 outside so he's probably got it pretty close to Spec normally
Yes, the tires are inflated to proper pressure. I noticed that they were low as well. According to the inter webs, “Colder temperatures will cause tire pressure to drop about 1 pound per square inch for every 10° F drop in air temperature.” So, if you do the math, it’s pretty close to expected. Thanks for the comment!
How long did you precondition for, and how much energy was required?
I don’t know how much energy was required. I set up the preconditioning about two hours earlier. I don’t know when it actually started doing its thing.
Wow. If average efficiency is just over 2, that’s way below what I get in Tesla M3LR, which around 4m/kWh.
Yes, I know, it’s also a smaller battery so less time needed for charging. And because of the increase in efficiency, it can get a lot more range. On the other hand, I can take the Rivian rock crawling, load it with a bunch of dirt, or wade it in 3 feet of water. Just as a sidenote, the efficiency rates for the Rivian are higher than the lightning, Hummer and cyber truck.