RWatkins
Active member
+1. Any idea how warm the pack would get in typical Phoenix day from pre-cooled state of 65-70 degrees F ?.Nubo said:It still could be useful to run a fan, but at night if/when temperature drops sufficiently. Lowering the pack temperature overnight gives it that much more thermal inertia to resist heating during the day. The net effect is still a lowering of the average battery temperature over time, and less time spent at the hottest temps.TomT said:I fail to see much value to an air cooling fan if the ambient air temperature is high, as it is in phoenix and other areas in the summer. You need something to lower the temperature (liquid cooling, A/C, Peltier, etc.) below ambient...
jlsoaz said:When Jim Stack at the end suggested using the solar panel to power a fan on the battery, Andy indicated some enthusiasm and was taking notes.
While this would require some energy, a simple fan is a lot less energy expense than active refrigeration. Just clearing the boundary layer of air could make a difference in the amount of cooling that takes place overnight. Inside the pack, heat tubes could convey the heat from the center of the pack to the case. All depends on where you're parked, how hot your garage stays (if garaged), etc... But I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.
Pre-cool the battery while plugged in, reduce solar gain with shading and/or window treatment, line inside of underbelly cover with radiant barrier to block excess heat when parked over hot pavement and look at other ways of stabilizing battery temp in ideal range. If ambient air temp is too high it obviously can't be used to cool battery without being pre-cooled itself. Using cooled cabin air while driving would help maintain lower temp until next plugin permitted pre-cooling the battery.