Heat pumps for electric cars: what are they and how do ...

It is good to clarify it immediately: electric cars work quietly in all seasons. It is true, however, that particularly high or low temperatures can create some problems for cars  (battery or not) but in most cases we are talking about something that we can amortize with small measures, such as the adoption, when possible, of heat pumps for electric cars.

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What are heat pumps?

Sub-zero temperatures can negatively affect the efficiency of an electric car, as the battery can lose some of its capacity when it is cold, reducing the average distance that can be traveled on a charge. In addition, the cold can also make it more difficult to start the car and reduce the available power, not to mention how the heating of the cabin affects the remaining range.

As we have already had the opportunity to show you, there are some small tricks that could help you during the cold seasons. Among the various tips, we remember: always check the remaining battery, park when possible in warm or sheltered places, use towels to protect the car from cold or ice during the night.

Another solution, certainly more expensive, is the heat pump. Installing it in a car after purchase is quite complex, but this technology is already standard in many cars, such as in the Tesla Model Y for example or in some models of the Volkswagen ID.3.

How heat pumps work

A heat pump is a device that uses a small amount of energy to move heat from one place to another. In an electric car, a heat pump is used to transfer heat from the outside air to the battery, which stores energy and powers the car.

Several studies (such as this one), have ascertained how an electric car equipped with a heat pump is about three times more efficient than a car that does not have one. In addition, this technology not only optimizes consumption during the winter, but is effective at all temperatures.

Some cars in which this technology is present, also allow remote preconditioning, which means that it is possible to set a temperature remotely to the car: this affects the battery less than doing it while the vehicle is moving.

Alternatives to heat pumps

Even in the absence of a heat pump, there are other means of minimizing the effects of cold. Many electric vehicles are equipped with heated seats, steering wheels and even seat belts, so that passengers are warmed up without heating the entire car. Some cars use minimal engine waste heat to heat the battery and extend the duration of the charge.

Is the cold a reason not to buy an electric car?  We believe not, as any technology is normal that there are strengths and weaknesses, the important thing is to be well informed and motivated before buying.

Perhaps you’ve heard: In many places, it’s really very cold out. Deep freezes hit wide bands of the US this week; snow and freezing rain have swept across northern Europe. This is all less than ideal for electric vehicles, which historically have not loved the cold. A handful of Chicago Tesla Supercharger stations made headlines this week after some EVs affected by the temperatures completely ran out of battery and had to be towed.

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Electric vehicles have a hard time in cold weather for two reasons. One is chemical: Lithium-ion batteries, the kind that make electric cars (and phones) go, rely on lithium ions moving from their negatively charged conductors (cathodes) to the positively charged ones (anodes). Cold makes the ions move more slowly to the anode, meaning it’s harder to charge a chilly battery than a toasty one. The other reason is more practical: Cold weather means car occupants are more likely to turn on the heat, and the heaters used to warm up a car draw power from the electric battery. This reduces range, sometimes significantly. Tests by AAA, Consumer Reports, and the EV battery data company Recurrent have found that freezing temperatures reduce vehicles’ ranges by somewhere between 16 and 46 percent. (Very cold weather also reduces gas-powered vehicles’ mileage, by between 15 and 24 percent.)

But in the past few years, a climate change hero technology has made its way into electric vehicles, one that has improved—but not solved—their cold weather issues: heat pumps. Heat pumps transfer heat from outside the car to help keep passengers warm, and so avoid sucking too much power away from the battery. And yes, heat pumps can still bring warm air into the car even if it’s freezing outside, albeit with mixed success. As counterintuitive as it sounds, there is still a good amount of heat that can be drawn from air that’s, say, 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

Today, heat pumps come in many, but not all, new electric vehicles. Teslas have come with a proprietary heat pump tech since 2021. Jaguar’s I-Pace has one built in, as does BMW’s latest i-series cars, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, Audi’s newest e-Tron, and Kia’s new electrified flagship, the EV9.

“Any electric vehicle that comes out right now and doesn’t have a heat pump is a dinosaur already,” says John Kelly, an automotive technology professor and instructor focusing on hybrid and electric vehicle technology at Weber State University.

Heat pumps are ultra-efficient because they transfer heat from existing sources instead of creating it. So in a home, if you’re using a furnace, you’re burning planet-warming gas to generate new heat that’s then blown around the structure. A heat pump instead extracts warmth from outdoor air and pumps it inside.

It’s the same principle for heat pumps in EVs. An internal-combustion car burns gasoline to power the vehicle, but in doing so it produces a whole lot of waste heat, which is then pumped into the cabin. Electric vehicles are way more efficient, with more than three-quarters of their electricity going towards moving the wheels, according to US federal data. That means there’s less waste heat to capture and warm the passengers. With a heat pump, an EV can extract warmth from outdoor air—again, even if it’s bitterly cold out—to warm the interior and even its battery, increasing the vehicle’s efficiency in cold weather.

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