DOES A NEW ELECTRIC CAR NEED A HEAT PUMP?

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69473

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Hi
I've been offered a Electric car through a company scheme which is tax efficient.
One of the options is a battery heat pump which is ment to give the battery optimum performance in cold weather?
Dealer is saying its not necessary in the UK and is designed for colder climates such as Scandinavia. Independent road test reviews suggest its desirable.
Just wondering if any EV owners out there have any views.
Many thanks
 
I assume the heatpump is for air con and heating, so how does that work without one?
 
Heat pump will keep you warm in winter driving, without cutting range too much. My i3 range shrank from 120 miles on full charge to 90 in the cold dark months.. I do not like being cold in the car! You may not need it… but if you like being warm in a car in winter… go for it.
 
I’ve used en EV over this winter, the Kia Niro 3, which doesn’t have a heat pump. It hasn’t caused us any difficulties at all. You can set the temperature before you leave on a cold morning so that the interior is warm and the windows clear, a huge advantage.
The disadvantage is a reduction in range but we never found that a problem. We could usually start the day with 250 miles to spare and that’s plenty for our life style. Where it might become a problem is if you regularly have to travel high mileage or you are offered a car with limited range. Having had an EV for a few months we certainly wouldn’t go back to an ice.
 
A mate found his range halved when it got to below freezing.

He resorted to wrapping up warm, not something I would do in a brand new motor.

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Googlebot said:
A mate found his range halved when it got to below freezing.

He resorted to wrapping up warm, not something I would do in a brand new motor.
Click to expand...
No way would it halve the range, unless the heater draws about 10kw.
 
Depends how far you are travellling between chrges. If you charge every night to cover the miles and heat then no not needed at all.
Ive never needed one in my car, and I like me heated seats too.
 
Wh05apk said:
No way would it halve the range, unless the heater draws about 10kw.
Click to expand...

It’s an Audi Etron, the range is 240 miles. When the temperature dipped this winter his range went down to 120 miles.

I don’t doubt your maths, I can only report real life experiences.
 
We have a BMW i3 with a heat pump, it's not needed in the UK. We only had it as the car with a heat pump was sat in the dealers stock.

They are a little more efficient but not enough to worry about.
 
My Mitsubushi PHEV does 32 in summer 25 in cold winter

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I have had my 64kw e Niro for 12 months now
Summer range is 275 real world
Mid winter freezing dropped to 220 real world with heater, heated-seats, heated steering wheel on

Love the “UVO” app which turns the heat on, on a freezing morning before you get outside👍

Would recommend this to anyone, but the new Kia EV6 looks amazing

My nephew has a VW id3, and raves about it as well
 
In the real world how many miles can you travel compared to the manurfactures claims?
 
Wondering star said:
In the real world how many miles can you travel compared to the manurfactures claims?
Click to expand...
About 80% in my tesla
But again all depends on speed ...temp..uphill..downhill..

And at a fill up costing about a tenner it doesn't worry me as I charge overnight
 
Wondering star said:
In the real world how many miles can you travel compared to the manurfactures claims?
Click to expand...
Kia claim up to 282 miles I regularly get 275- real

My pal has the same car and his journey to work and back is “the perfect” route/traffic/speed and he regularly gets 300+

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I would add that I have run the car on one occassion to it saying on the dash 1 mile remaining, and still made it home
 
Wondering star said:
In the real world how many miles can you travel compared to the manurfactures claims?
Click to expand...
A lot depends on conditions. Kia predict 282 miles. I charged to 100% in late January for 260 miles, in June 100% gave me 292.
I find the range used and the milage done to be quite similar - but then I’m a careful (boring) driver.
 
Cheshirecat57 said:
I would add that I have run the car on one occassion to it saying on the dash 1 mile remaining, and still made it home
Click to expand...
:roflmto: :roflmto: youve got more balls than me CC
1623271326610.png
 
To be honest, sat nav said 11 miles to home and Range said 12
Very familiar area obvs, so took a chance and it was ok

Part of me wanted to keep driving round the block to see how much beyond zero it would go, but I didnt have the balls for that 😄
 
Have decided to order with heat pump and rapid charger.
Thanks for your advise, just need to wait 6 months for the car.
Skoda Enyaq.
 
Cheshirecat57 said:
To be honest, sat nav said 11 miles to home and Range said 12
Very familiar area obvs, so took a chance and it was ok

Part of me wanted to keep driving round the block to see how much beyond zero it would go, but I didnt have the balls for that 😄
Click to expand...
There's a guy online run his X down to about 10 beyond zero in minus 10 or something
 
Wondering star said:
Have decided to order with heat pump and rapid charger.
Thanks for your advise, just need to wait 6 months for the car.
Skoda Enyaq.
Click to expand...
Drove one last week. It was true to its word on range sitting on the motorway at the GPS speed limit. Best E car I have driven as it is large enough to not jiggle about and not an Etron monster. Lovely practical car.
 
This article suggests the heat pump helps to keep the battery at the optimum operating temperature. Both warming and cooling the battery as needed. Cold batteries deliver less power.
www.autocar.co.uk

Under the skin: How heat pumps improve electric cars | Autocar

200-year-old heat pump technology is boosting the efficiency of the latest EVs
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
 
Wondering star said:
Hi
I've been offered a Electric car through a company scheme which is tax efficient.
One of the options is a battery heat pump which is ment to give the battery optimum performance in cold weather?
Dealer is saying its not necessary in the UK and is designed for colder climates such as Scandinavia. Independent road test reviews suggest its desirable.
Just wondering if any EV owners out there have any views.
Many thanks
Click to expand...
I noticed the difference when using my vehicle over the colder months with range dropping by 10-15%. (I live in South so it’s possible that the colder the more difference you might notice). I suppose it depends on how you intend to use the vehicle. If the range expected (not quoted) is more than adequate for your expected use, you probably wont need the pump. If you like to drive the vehicle with heating on high, you may need that pump after all. I would look into tariffs. I went with Octopus on their Go tariff. Very cheap rates over night between 00-4:30.

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