Is this really an article saying heat pumps are more efficient than resistive heaters? Yes, that is why heat pumps exist.
The biggest issue is the battery itself. If it gets cold enough you can have difficulty even charging an EV outdoors. I would be a lot more concerned with whether or not my battery is well insulated and heated. Heat pumps are great and should be the default, but unless you’re going really far or have a very low range EV it’s not a huge issue.
I know the resistive heater in my Volt can’t compare to the heat put out by the ICE. Often in the winter we’ll have to run the ICE to keep the cabin warm enough. It does have heated seats and wheel, but my wife is the type to set the heat to max until it gets too hot rather than just picking a temp and hitting auto to let the car manage it.
If the heat pump can put out more heat for less energy, that would be a boon. That might be the second biggest issue (next to range) that has my wife vetoing an all-electric car. She gets the next vehicle, but I want the one after that to be a full EV.
Fwiw, I’ve never had a lack of heat from my cars heat pump. It even warms up faster than a gasoline engine would. Most importantly, I can turn it on remotely to get warm before I get in the car. I never had that with a gas engine
Is this really an article saying heat pumps are more efficient than resistive heaters? Yes, that is why heat pumps exist.
The biggest issue is the battery itself. If it gets cold enough you can have difficulty even charging an EV outdoors. I would be a lot more concerned with whether or not my battery is well insulated and heated. Heat pumps are great and should be the default, but unless you’re going really far or have a very low range EV it’s not a huge issue.
You still need resistive heat as heatpumps don’t work below about -20C and those temperatures happen to at least some car buyers.
I know the resistive heater in my Volt can’t compare to the heat put out by the ICE. Often in the winter we’ll have to run the ICE to keep the cabin warm enough. It does have heated seats and wheel, but my wife is the type to set the heat to max until it gets too hot rather than just picking a temp and hitting auto to let the car manage it.
If the heat pump can put out more heat for less energy, that would be a boon. That might be the second biggest issue (next to range) that has my wife vetoing an all-electric car. She gets the next vehicle, but I want the one after that to be a full EV.
Fwiw, I’ve never had a lack of heat from my cars heat pump. It even warms up faster than a gasoline engine would. Most importantly, I can turn it on remotely to get warm before I get in the car. I never had that with a gas engine
Yeah and a lot are moving to heat pumps if they don’t already use them.
https://www.recurrentauto.com/questions/which-electric-vehicles-have-heat-pumps
There’s a list of models that have them.