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I'd be interested to know how much a heater would drain the battery of an electric car. I've been in cold temps and snow where you had to have the defroster going full blast to keep ice off the windshield as well on high as to keep the car warm.
Our KIA Soul has the base 1.6 L engine and its extremely quick to heat up, only a few minutes. And its A/C is equally impressive and can make the car an ice box. There's no way I'd go for an extended cross country trip in winter in an electric car, even if it was mathematically doable.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Tesla reports that their Model S loses 19% of the normal range when driving in 0F degree weather with the heat on, that reduces the range to 195 miles. I would expect the lower-end EVs to do worse, but that is just a guess. The ICE has the advantage of producing a lot of wasted heat that is captured for heating the cabin, the disadvantage is that it's wasted on warm days.
The problem is range. AC usage absolutely kills the battery on my Prius. I mean, it's a tiny battery but the same thing will happen on any EV. Beyond that though it'll just depends on the car. A runty AC is a runty AC. Doesn't matter at all if it's driven by a belt or an electric motor.
If you plan on using anything like the "150" miles a Leaf will get, don't plan on it in either the summer or the winter. You won't get it. On the other hand, if you only need half of that you're good to blast down the freeway at 80 mph with AC going. I'd skip the current leaf if range is a concern. Get either the Bolt or Model 3 or wait for 2019. Supposedly the Leaf is going up to the 225 mile range for 2019.
It's pretty much the same thing with any electrical system: the more you use it, the less electrical power is set aside for driving the wheels. Heat, stereo, defoggers, whatever. ButOne could argue that heat and A/C are necessary in order to actually survive the drive, and sometimes the infotainment is necessary to remain sane during the drive.
My Prius does just fine. Its actually better than the gasser Malibu I had before that, though not as good as the 2007 Impala.
Mileage does go down, as it did in gas vehicles. As was mentioned, a runty AC unit is a runty AC unit, just like a runty Heater is a runty Heater, and a crappy Stereo is a crappy stereo.
My Prius does just fine. Its actually better than the gasser Malibu I had before that, though not as good as the 2007 Impala.
Mileage does go down, as it did in gas vehicles. As was mentioned, a runty AC unit is a runty AC unit, just like a runty Heater is a runty Heater, and a crappy Stereo is a crappy stereo.
Well, I can go 550 miles on a tank of gas with air off and 500 on a tank with the air on. Then I can stop for fifteen minutes, fill up, and immediately drive another 550 or 500 miles. It makes a day trip from Dallas to San Antonio or from Springfield to Chicago possible.
The new electric cars are using heat pumps instead of heater strips to provide heat. It's a lot more efficient. They do ac and heat just like in a home unit. That being said it does lead to a potential failure point in the reversing valve.
The new electric cars are using heat pumps instead of heater strips to provide heat. It's a lot more efficient. They do ac and heat just like in a home unit. That being said it does lead to a potential failure point in the reversing valve.
I think that depends on your definition of "efficiency." Don't electric heat strips convert 100% of electrical energy into heat energy? Doesn't get more efficient than that. Unless you're telling me that the heat pump system will somehow pull in more heat than the same amount of energy put through a heat strip?
I think that depends on your definition of "efficiency." Don't electric heat strips convert 100% of electrical energy into heat energy? Doesn't get more efficient than that. Unless you're telling me that the heat pump system will somehow pull in more heat than the same amount of energy put through a heat strip?
Have you ever owned a house with a heat pump and backup electric strips?
If yes you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Heat pumps are considerably more efficient in making heat vs straight electric strips.
In NYS heat pumps are not as effective as some areas, especially in the winter. They generally have to be supplemented because the air and ground temperatue is too cold too often.
I'd be worried about relying on a car that only had a heat pump as a source for internal heating.
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