[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Capricio

This showed up in my newsfeed, prob because Google was spying on my searches. Which, privacy issues aside, was kind of timely.



https://gmauthority.com/blog/2025/01...testing-shows/


I'm not an HVAC expert, but from my experience with a heat pump at home and from talking to HVAC techs:

• Air coming out my vents doesn't feel warm on my skin, even though it keeps the house at the set temp. (Be prepared for your wife/gf to complain)
• You want your system scaled as small as possible for efficiency, it's better to run constantly with fewer stops/starts. Its also easier on the equipment, kind of like "highway miles".
• Newer refrigerants are more effective down to lower outside temps. Some of new ones go down to 0 F but are quite expensive.
• Because of (thanks EPA!) stricter efficiency standards, the cost of a system comparable to the one I had installed 5 years ago has risen about 50%.

Yikes! 25-30% loss, with the heatpump!



Oh well, just another reason to wait a few years while they sort the bugs out. I used to live in northern MN and ND, and I'd never consider a pure BEV up there, or even a heat pump HVAC for that matter. The heat pump is fine for where I live now, however.

Also not an HVAC expert. Not by a long shot. I can only provide my real world experience after 14 months with a Tesla Model Y and 4 months with an Equinox EV.

• Both have diminished efficiency in cold weather. I'm defining cold as under 30 degrees.
• How much the efficiency is diminished depends on a few things. Most important of this is where the drive starts. Both cars can be pre-conditioned from grid energy if they are plugged in at the start of the trip. So if I'm at home and I'm taking either car out on a drive, I precondition it. Same as remote starting my Camaro. But instead of burning E85 at $2.59/gallon, I'm using grid electricity at $0.17/kWh. Both EVs get around 3 - 3.5 mile/kWh.
• If I am leaving from somewhere that I am not plugged in, either car will have poor efficiency until the battery is at an appropriate operating temperature. So for short drives it might never get to the right temperature. For longer drives it will eventually get back to normal operating temperature.
• Long drives using cabin heat (who wouldn't?) will also diminish efficiency, but pretty much at about the same rate as running AC in an ICE car. I compare to AC in an ICE car because heat in an ICE car does not typically have the same level of efficiency reduction. Heat is mostly drawn from the engine and is "free". It doesn't cause the engine to work any harder than it already is.
• The Tesla is the easier comparison since we've had it more than a year and this is its second winter. When I look at energy efficiency, most of the year it averages around 3.5 miles/kWh. More in city driving, less in highway driving. Complete opposite of an ICE car. In the winter it averages around 2.9 miles/kWh. More in city driving, less in highway driving.
• We have never had an "omigod I'm gonna run out of range" moment, even in the winter. Other than long trips (250 miles+) I don't think either car has ever been under 50% charge.
• Both cars will draw more energy from our grid during the winter, but at $0.17/kWh it means each car will add about $30 - 35 / month to our electric bill most months, $40 - 45 in winter months.

***EDIT*** I'm about to head out in the Tesla. So I screenshot my phone to show how I'm able to precondition the battery and the cabin so that when I'm ready to unplug from my home charger, it's operating as if it's a 70 degree day (for the most part). Reduces the energy draw needed to heat the battery and the cabin while I'm driving.