Lightning heater specs?

[Kev12345]

Honestly I mostly prefer the Mach-e setup. Yes it has a lot more parts, but those are all parts bin parts and are easily replaced if there is an issue. Issues will also tend to be more isolated. The Model Y solution puts all it's eggs in one basket - but if that part fails, it is much more expensive and time consuming to repair. Tesla has a great solution to optimize performance, while the Mach-e solution is better for maintainability.

you're right. pro's and con's to redundancy. I wonder if the limited model y parts could relate to the 16 reported failed heaters of model y in cold areas of Canada. Transport Canada has actually launched an investigation into the matter.

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[Sam James]

Same here.

Is that with preconditioning? Our ID.4 has started out in single-digit temps and only lost about a max of 40 miles on the guess-o-meter. We did make it between Springfield and KC with no charging in-between (thank God, because there are no fast chargers in-between) by going slightly under the limit and keeping the heater at 68.

Wish VW included a heat pump for sure.

 

[sotek2345]

Is that with preconditioning? Our ID.4 has started out in single-digit temps and only lost about a max of 40 on the guess-o-meter. We did make it between Springfield and KC with no charging in-between (thank God, because there are no fast chargers in-between) by going slightly under the limit and keeping the heater at 68.

Wish VW included a heat pump for sure.

Haven't had a chance to test it on any longer hauls, but the worst I have seen is a 50 percent reduction with around town driving. Around 0 degrees, slush and ice on the road, no preconditioning (just went grocery shopping).

 

[bosox8]

Any idea if the Lightning will operate with a heat pump system or simply rely on resistance heat for cabin conditioning?

 

[sotek2345]

Any idea if the Lightning will operate with a heat pump system or simply rely on resistance heat for cabin conditioning?

We haven't seen anything official, but all indications are that it is just a resistance heater.

 

[adoublee]

Any idea if the Lightning will operate with a heat pump system or simply rely on resistance heat for cabin conditioning?

I think I have seen that a 5kW resistance heater puts heat into a liquid heating/cooling loop that is shared with battery thermal management in the Mach e. Might be the same, though sounds to underperform and probably takes some extra time to get heat back out of that loop.

 

[bosox8]

I think I have seen that a 5kW resistance heater puts heat into a liquid heating/cooling loop that is shared with battery thermal management in the Mach e. Might be the same, though sounds to underperform and probably takes some extra time to get heat back out of that loop.

Yeah, doubt they've got the Tesla arrangement down, shame.

 

[adoublee]

Yeah, doubt they've got the Tesla arrangement down, shame.

Of failing heat pumps?

 

[sotek2345]

Yeah, doubt they've got the Tesla arrangement down, shame.

Eh, they only really help in moderate cold (above freezing).

 

[LightningShow]

Any guesses on how much of a battery drain the resistive heating will be on the range ?

My wife who uses heating says the PHEV loses 25-40% of daily range - which is why I drive without heating the cabin. Pre conditioning avoids loss of range before leaving the house.

Depends highly on the type of driving. If you're commuting 100 miles/day on the freeway, the HVAC will be a pretty low percentage of usage. Doing errands around town it will me much higher. In my Bolt, I see a 5-10% reduction in efficiency for highway driving when running HVAC.

 

[Roy2001]

That’s a shame. It’s a pretty big boost in efficiency.

Although Tesla is having issues with model y heat pumps failing in Canada where it’s really cold -30C. They don’t have a back up resistive heater for some reason.

You cannot count on heat pump when it is -30C anyway.

 

[EaglesPDX]

That’s a shame. It’s a pretty big boost in efficiency.

The heat pump only works after the vehicle's electric motors develop waste heat which is going to be about 20 minutes into the ride, maybe longer in colder weather when you need it. On long trips over 30 minutes (average commute is 30 minutes), it will help by about 2 miles an hour.

It's a feature I'd like to have, even passed on US Kona EV because it didn't have it and I drive in Winter conditions a lot, but it's likely not cost effective unless you have a two hour round trip commute and cold Winters.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Currently drive a Nissan Leaf with both heat pump and resistive heat. Here's the catch:

Heat pump doesn't do anything for defrost, and the windows fog up quick unless its very dry out. As soon as you add defrost, the heat pump switches to A/C mode and the resistive heat comes on.

So if the resistive is on most of the time (snowing, fog, high humidity), why bother with the complexity of the heat pump?

 

[Dylanch]

Added a 5kw diesel heater

 

[lightspeed]

I'm not convinced heat pump matters in this case. The resistive heater is 5kW but it's not going to run at that level for more than 20 minutes (?) and then reduce to 1kW to keep the cabin warm from there? I mean imagine having a bathroom space heater running full blast in your truck at 1500 watts, you'd sweat your balls off after 20 mins.

So, if it's running at 2kW (just to be generous an account for air leaks), that would only be 6kWh out of the 131kWh battery after 3 hours of driving.

The big unknown is how much power it takes to warm the batteries. It would be nice if someone with a scan tool could post that in cold weather.

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