EV alternative for light/medium duty trucks
So much wheel spinning on EVs, what if they are not the right path forward? The biggest problem with renewable power and EVs is storage, the second is storage, and the third is storage. Another pat...
Forum Discussion
pianotuna wrote:
Does anyone know the wattage on the battery heaters used in EV's?
Resistive heating, which is what most EVs have, goes up to 10kw aprox. That includes battery and creature comfort (cabin and trunk space).
Very few have heat pumps which are more efficient. Keep in mind the EVs need to raise temp in the battery pack quickly, so the heater is oversized to get to temp fast.
The problem with the EVs and the cold is a time problem. If it is too cold and you just start it and go, all EVs will crank the heat to max to ensure no damage to the high voltage battery (EV batteries can provide power to 0F, but can't charge at less than 30F, so until the pack is warm the car can't use regenerative breaking). Again, that is the reason why they have such large heaters. If you have the heating preprogramed or plugged in, the heating is just maintenance and far less of a power drain.
I always compare it with my old Dodge with the 5.9L Cummins with the block heater when I lived in Michigan. Was it mandatory to plug it in at night? No, but it certainly made it a heck of a lot more comfortable in a cold morning.
That is also the reason why most EVs have seat heating, so you can reduce the need of cabin heating.
