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Electric Vehicles Have Reduced Range In Cold Weather

RSchneider

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Fair enough. You'd think they'd use foam insulation in the frame that surrounds the cab and perhaps sheets of foam in the doors where it doesn't interfere with window and door lock movements, but I suppose they don't so that you retain access to wires and such.
Best thing to do is strip a car apart. They never account for insulation yet they do on sealing for water. Technically they could take the doors and spray a layer of foam in them and then do the same for the roof. You have another issue. It's the glass. Look at the percentage of the glass as compared to the total cabin. It's a pretty good amount and then it's at the top. After all of that, they need to make cars as light as can be, as for your house, it doesn't matter. So heavy materials that have a better R value along with the insulation (which takes up a bit of room) makes your house quite different than a car.

The problem with EV's is that they have to replace ICE which allow for comfort since the energy to heat it, is essentially free and for an EV, its not at all, it's a liability. Even for AC as the engine makes much more in excess than what it takes to drive the compressor. If it takes 3 hp to drive the compressor and you have a 100hp engine, the chance you are using the engine at 100% capacity is rare. In addition to that, most cars today run the compressor all of the time and just use a valve to control what it does. The days of the electro magnet clutches are going away.

I think we need to rethink HVAC and insulation when it comes to EV's to make them practical for all of the US for 365 days per year. It'll happen but it's going to take time.
 

Ty

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Best thing to do is strip a car apart. They never account for insulation yet they do on sealing for water. Technically they could take the doors and spray a layer of foam in them and then do the same for the roof. You have another issue. It's the glass. Look at the percentage of the glass as compared to the total cabin. It's a pretty good amount and then it's at the top. After all of that, they need to make cars as light as can be, as for your house, it doesn't matter. So heavy materials that have a better R value along with the insulation (which takes up a bit of room) makes your house quite different than a car.

The problem with EV's is that they have to replace ICE which allow for comfort since the energy to heat it, is essentially free and for an EV, its not at all, it's a liability. Even for AC as the engine makes much more in excess than what it takes to drive the compressor. If it takes 3 hp to drive the compressor and you have a 100hp engine, the chance you are using the engine at 100% capacity is rare. In addition to that, most cars today run the compressor all of the time and just use a valve to control what it does. The days of the electro magnet clutches are going away.

I think we need to rethink HVAC and insulation when it comes to EV's to make them practical for all of the US for 365 days per year. It'll happen but it's going to take time.
I agree. I didn't realize AC runs all the time now but that makes sense. I suppose it comes down to failure probability of the clutch vs. the compressor. It seems if you skip the clutch and just have the motor run all the time, it would last longer. On the other hand, it would be a power draw all the time as well. How many manufacturers are willing to take the efficiency hit in order to run the AC all the time? I would think none. I'd think they'd rather take a chance on the clutch going out than lose some MPG.
 

mkiker2089

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Manufacturers have scaled down the AC. Older refrigerants we're better than the eco friendly ones and people wanted a burst of cool air. Cars used AC units big enough for a house.
 

RSchneider

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The AC compressor is always running but you need to remember, it has a valve on the back of it that opens and closes. When closed the compressor freewheels as it's pumping nothing. This is not the compressor is constantly pumping refrigerant. You have to remember, that EPA test for mpg has the AC on. So, over the years we have started to see companies work to make the AC system not produce a big hit on mpg like it did in the gool ol days.The old systems took a big hit on mpg because they were always going on and off. On a hot summer day when you turn off a compressor and turn it back on in a minute, it takes at least twice the amount of energy to get it going and then it takes another 15-20 seconds for it to hit equilibrium. Then systems went to leaving the compressor on as much as possible and mixing in heat for your temp control inside the car. Now they are going to regulating the displacement of the compressor to where you only get what you need.

In the end, if you never use the AC, you probably get 0.25 - 0.5 mpg better than people who do use the AC, with these new systems (not all cars have it). Think of the system like a throttle. You mash the throttle to get on the highway but start releasing it when you catch up to traffic and maintains a constant speed. The old system would have you at full throttle right up to traffic and then you'd let off 100%, slow down and then mash the throttle again until you catch up. If you drove your car like an old AC system, you'd not get very good mileage either.
 

RSchneider

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Manufacturers have scaled down the AC. Older refrigerants we're better than the eco friendly ones and people wanted a burst of cool air. Cars used AC units big enough for a house.
Also, just so you know, R12 was the evil refrigerant and R134a was the savior and eco friendly. Guess what, we found out R134a is just as bad (bad in a different way). This is why it's being phased out. First is in the foam industry and then AC units.
 

Ty

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The AC compressor is always running but you need to remember, it has a valve on the back of it that opens and closes. When closed the compressor freewheels as it's pumping nothing. This is not the compressor is constantly pumping refrigerant. You have to remember, that EPA test for mpg has the AC on. So, over the years we have started to see companies work to make the AC system not produce a big hit on mpg like it did in the gool ol days.The old systems took a big hit on mpg because they were always going on and off. On a hot summer day when you turn off a compressor and turn it back on in a minute, it takes at least twice the amount of energy to get it going and then it takes another 15-20 seconds for it to hit equilibrium. Then systems went to leaving the compressor on as much as possible and mixing in heat for your temp control inside the car. Now they are going to regulating the displacement of the compressor to where you only get what you need.

In the end, if you never use the AC, you probably get 0.25 - 0.5 mpg better than people who do use the AC, with these new systems (not all cars have it). Think of the system like a throttle. You mash the throttle to get on the highway but start releasing it when you catch up to traffic and maintains a constant speed. The old system would have you at full throttle right up to traffic and then you'd let off 100%, slow down and then mash the throttle again until you catch up. If you drove your car like an old AC system, you'd not get very good mileage either.
Well said.
 
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