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Heat Pump - they still don't seem to know what they're talking about !

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:27 pm
by Goaty
Possibly a questionable translation from Czech, but there still appears to be confusion regarding the functionality of the heat pump !


" A heat pump system compresses refrigerant under high pressure, the generated heat is used to heat the pouring cold air. This requires less energy from the highly valve battery for heating. Result: An optimisation of the range over electric vehicles without heat pump. "


I found this description within the current updated configurator.

Okay, I'm probably being a little pedantic to be honest :roll: I think this now clarifies that it heats the cabin rather than the battery, but what are they on about with 'pouring cold air' and 'highly valve battery' ? !!!

Re: Heat Pump - they still don't seem to know what they're talking about !

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 9:42 pm
by james_scott22
Yup. Not what I understood these pumps to be about when they were being discussed for the leaf 60kw. Was all about battery temp management when high speed charging to prevent tanking

Re: Heat Pump - they still don't seem to know what they're talking about !

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:05 pm
by Goaty
Yeah, I wish this had been clearer when I placed my order in May; if I'd known that it heats the interior more efficiently instead of optimising the battery temp, I'd quite possibly have gone for it. Mind you, at over a grand, that would take a long time to break even, compared with the extra charging costs associated with heating the cabin with the standard system (i.e. the effect that has on range and therefore how often you have to charge).

I did get the Climate Plus Package which heats the front & rear seats as well as the windscreen - so hopefully these will avoid me having to use the fan heater too often.

Re: Heat Pump - they still don't seem to know what they're talking about !

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:14 am
by RichR
VW's explanation for the MEB platform is a bit better. It does heat the battery up to about 25C as well. You can see this if you run one of the apps that pull battery information from the OBD2 port. For instance have a look at the Norwegian YouTube reviewers who take the cars for extended test runs over several days up to the Arctic Circle. Within a few minutes of turning the car on, the battery temperature is brought up to 20-30C on the MEB platform cars with a heat pump, which it wouldn't be without. Similarly it should be able to cool the battery during charging for example.

It does also work in reverse to heat the cabin - this is why it's termed a pump rather than just a heater/cooler (like some other EVs have), as it can move the heat between cabin, battery and outside air as required.

Re: Heat Pump - they still don't seem to know what they're talking about !

Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2021 10:38 am
by scratch113
RichR wrote: Sat Jul 03, 2021 9:14 am VW's explanation for the MEB platform is a bit better. It does heat the battery up to about 25C as well. You can see this if you run one of the apps that pull battery information from the OBD2 port. For instance have a look at the Norwegian YouTube reviewers who take the cars for extended test runs over several days up to the Arctic Circle. Within a few minutes of turning the car on, the battery temperature is brought up to 20-30C on the MEB platform cars with a heat pump, which it wouldn't be without. Similarly it should be able to cool the battery during charging for example.

It does also work in reverse to heat the cabin - this is why it's termed a pump rather than just a heater/cooler (like some other EVs have), as it can move the heat between cabin, battery and outside air as required.
That's the best explanation of how it works I've read so far.