Heat pump in an electric car - is it worth paying extra or not? [CHECKING]

In many discussions about buying an electric vehicle, the topic of the heat pump is raised as a key piece of equipment for the electrician. We decided to test how important this system is given the power consumption (read: range) in winter.

How does a heat pump work?

Table of contents

• How does a heat pump work?
• Heat pump in an electric vehicle - cooling savings = ~ 1,5 kWh / 100 km
  • Расчеты
  • Popular electric vehicles without heat pumps and with heat pumps

Let's start by explaining what a heat pump is. Well, it's a whole host of systems that able to transfer heat from one place to another through proper control of the compression and expansion of the refrigerant... From the point of view of the car, the most common topic is heating the passenger compartment at low temperatures, but it is worth remembering that a heat pump can also cool it at high temperatures.

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Let's get back to the point. A heat pump in a car works like a refrigerator: it takes heat (=reduces temperature) from one place to deliver it (=heats it) to another. In the refrigerator, heat is pumped outside, outside the chamber, in the car - inside the passenger compartment.

The process works even when it is colder inside (refrigerator) or outside (car) than in the space of interest.

Of course, this process requires energy, but it is much more efficient than heating the interior of a car with resistive heaters - at least in a certain temperature range.

Heat pump under the hood Kii e-Niro

Kia e-Niro with a visible "hole" in which a heat pump could be found

Heat pump in an electric vehicle - cooling savings = ~ 1,5 kWh / 100 km

The heat pump is more important the smaller the battery we have Oraz the more often we drive in temperatures from 0 to 10 degrees Celsius... It can also be critical when the battery capacity is “just right” for our needs, because at lower temperatures the range of electric vehicles is reduced.

On the other hand: the heat pump is no longer needed when the battery capacity and range are too high.

> How much energy does heating an electric vehicle consume in winter? [Hyundai Kona Electric]

Here are the numbers: the online reports we have collected show that under optimal operating conditions heat pumps (0-10 degrees Celsius) consume several hundred watts of power. Internet users indicated values ​​from 0,3 to 0,8 kW. These were inaccurate eye measurements from vehicle energy consumption observations, but the range was repeated.

In turn, the heating of cars without heat pumps consumed from 1 to 2 kW. We add that we are talking about constant work, and not about warming up the cabin after a night in the cold - because then the values ​​\u3b\u4bcan be much higher, reaching XNUMX-XNUMX kW.

This is partly confirmed by official figures from Renault, which boasted 2 kW of cooling power or 3 kW of reheat power at a power consumption of 1 kW in the case of the previous generation Zoe.

Diagram of the device and operation of the heating and cooling system in Renault Zoe (c) Renault

Thus, the heat pump has saved up to 1 kWh of energy per hour of operation. Taking into account the average driving speed, this means savings of 1,5-2,5 kWh / 100 km.

Расчеты

If a heat pump vehicle will use 18 kWh per 100 kilometers., automobile without heat pump for the same 18 kWh it will travel about 90 kilometers. Thus, it can be seen that with a power reserve of 120-130 km - as in the Nissan LEAF 24 kWh - the difference is felt. However, the larger the battery capacity, the smaller the difference.

> Electric car in winter, i.e. mileage of Nissan Leaf in Norway and Siberia in cold weather

Therefore, if we often travel at night, live in mountainous areas or in northeastern Poland, a heat pump can be an important addition. However, when we drive up to 100 kilometers a day and the car battery is over 30 kWh, buying a heat pump may not be profitable for us.

Popular electric vehicles without heat pumps and with heat pumps

A heat pump is relatively expensive equipment, although price lists do not include 10, 15 or more thousand zlotys, so many manufacturers refuse this system. They come out more often, the larger the battery in the car.

Heat pumps CANNOT be found, for example, in:

• Skoda CitigoE iV / VW e-Up / Mii Electric Seat.

Heat pump ADDITIONAL in:

• Peugeot e-208, Opel Corsa-e and other vehicles of the PSA group (may vary by market),
• Kii e-Niro,
• Hyundai Kona Electric,
• Nissan Leafie II generation,
• VW e-Golf,
• VW ID.3,
• bmw i3.

> Electric Hyundai Kona in winter test. News and important features

The heat pump is STANDARD in:

• Renault Zoe,
• Hyundaiu Ioniq Electric.

Update 2020/02/03, hours. 18.36: XNUMX: We removed the mention of air conditioning to avoid confusion.

Update 2020/09/29, hours. 17.20 pm: We have changed the vehicle inventory to reflect the current state.

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