It doesn't chill when Volt is turned off right? PiP chills with air but requires the driver to turn on the A/C (likely scenario) to cool the cabin. Better than the limited cooling scenario and not as good as isothermal in the extreme desert condition. Looks to be 9-10 years so, it is good enough. Volt battery should last longer there but at a cost of range reduction, energy required by more cooling and heavier cooling system.
Volt's battery thermal management system runs when needed, especially when plugged in. My understanding of the PiP is similar to yours, it will not force the AC on to cool the battery but depends on an occupant to interviene. I don't know if the PiP will turn on the AC to cool the battery when unattended while charging. The range is not reduce on the Volt because the thermal management allows for a higher SOC than a system without aggressive thermal management. As you have noticed in other threads, the extra weight doesn't have a significant impact on kWh/mile.
I don't think it does automatically (not sure) but I can press the AC button on the remote to trigger it.
Do you get an alert that the battery is too warm so that you know to remote start the AC? Or will it slow down or stop charging if the battery gets above some temperature, like 75 deg F ? Your right ... these things should be discussed in a PiP thread rather than in a Volt forum.
Is the solar roof or Automatic Climate Control standard on the PIP which keeps the cabin cool in temp above 70 degrees which may benefit the battery.
I am not sure if a fan vent the hot air using the plug electricity (instead of from solar panel). I haven't had my PiP in that kind of hot temp.
