Patent ID: 8433455

Claim:
A method for determining an available range for a vehicle operating on battery power from a battery, said method comprising: performing in a processor the steps of: determining a useable battery energy value based on battery state-of-charge and battery capacity; determining a power value needed to heat or cool a vehicle cabin by a vehicle heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) system; determining an available battery energy value based on the useable battery energy value and an estimated energy value to provide the vehicle cabin heating or cooling where the estimated energy value is determined using the power value; determining a recent energy used value based on an actual recent HVAC energy used value, a recent energy used value with no HVAC system loads and a recent energy used value with maximum HVAC system loads; determining a recent distance traveled value; and determining the range by dividing the recent distance traveled value by the recent energy used value and multiplying by the available battery energy value.