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The people who accuse every legitimate criticism as being a hit piece are insufferable. This is a very real problem - especially because, imagine the heat pump

The people who accuse every legitimate criticism as being a hit piece are insufferable. This is a very real problem - especially because, imagine the heat pumps you just mentioned. You go to the grocery store. There's no heat pump at the grocery store. You are quite limited in your travel by how long you need to be at your destination for - which sucks.

mrguyorama 3y ago
The heat pump is inside the car. It comes with you. It's no different to 90's cars with block heaters, and just as (un)common a concern
- gjsman-1000 3y ago
  Unless the heat pump is in the car and can't run because the battery is frozen or died... I mean, real scenario here: It's the Yukon, it's -30C outside in January. You run in for groceries and the battery is low. You get haggled a bit. You come back outside, your battery is dead because it's cold. You can't run your heat pump either, because the battery is dead. You can't use, say, a fire or a blowtorch either. Time for hundreds of feet of extension cords.
  - foogazi 3y ago
    What % of the population of Earth falls under this “real” scenario? Most people won’t drive when it’s this cold anyway
  - PreInternet01 3y ago
    You don't need to 'run the heat pump'. It is running already, whenever required, even if you're not around. And, because it is running, your batteries will not reach a temperature where they start degrading. And, yes, this means your driving range is reduced slightly, but because heat pumps are so efficient, and because the alternative is, as you so eloquently observe, "car is dead", it's... sort-of worth it? And the wonderful thing is: this works in both extreme cold and extreme heat, because heat pumps are reversible! So, for a little bit of battery power/range reduction (let's call it 20%?), you keep your EV (and the planet!) alive a little while longer. Now, I don't have any experience with 'the Yukon', but I can tell you from personal experience that: a Volkswagen Transporter, used for staff and goods movement in Greenland (so, short distances only: all serious travel is done by plane or boat), that in its fossil-powered incarnation would need to run 24/7 on diesel for a good 90 days a year, works perfectly fine year-round in its heat-pump-upgraded EV life.
  - soco 3y ago
    Isn't this the exactly same problem you have with an ICE at -30?
  - gaganyaan 3y ago
    My EV is doing just fine in -20C weather right now. Cold weather concerns are simply more FUD pushed by a dying industry that doesn't need help from people parroting them.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    At -30C or -50C people leave their ICE cars running to keep warm, too. I once ran a truck out of fuel doing that. (In my defence the fuel gauge was broken, but the logbook I was using instead was not well kept...)
PreInternet01 3y ago
The heat pump is in the car (where it is sipping a bit of battery power, 24/7, in order to keep said batteries alive). Not at the grocery store. At least, not for the purpose I'm talking about...
belltaco 3y ago
You go to the gas station in your ICE car in the same place as the story(Illinois), you cannot fill gas because the gas pumps are frozen. That sucks. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38990445 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38990445 In Canada: https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/cold-weather-causes-frozen-gas-pumps/ https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/cold-weather-causes-fro...
- creaturemachine 3y ago
  Illinois is not in Canada.

mrguyorama 3y ago

The heat pump is inside the car. It comes with you. It's no different to 90's cars with block heaters, and just as (un)common a concern

gjsman-1000 3y ago
Unless the heat pump is in the car and can't run because the battery is frozen or died... I mean, real scenario here: It's the Yukon, it's -30C outside in January. You run in for groceries and the battery is low. You get haggled a bit. You come back outside, your battery is dead because it's cold. You can't run your heat pump either, because the battery is dead. You can't use, say, a fire or a blowtorch either. Time for hundreds of feet of extension cords.
- foogazi 3y ago
  What % of the population of Earth falls under this “real” scenario? Most people won’t drive when it’s this cold anyway
- PreInternet01 3y ago
  You don't need to 'run the heat pump'. It is running already, whenever required, even if you're not around. And, because it is running, your batteries will not reach a temperature where they start degrading. And, yes, this means your driving range is reduced slightly, but because heat pumps are so efficient, and because the alternative is, as you so eloquently observe, "car is dead", it's... sort-of worth it? And the wonderful thing is: this works in both extreme cold and extreme heat, because heat pumps are reversible! So, for a little bit of battery power/range reduction (let's call it 20%?), you keep your EV (and the planet!) alive a little while longer. Now, I don't have any experience with 'the Yukon', but I can tell you from personal experience that: a Volkswagen Transporter, used for staff and goods movement in Greenland (so, short distances only: all serious travel is done by plane or boat), that in its fossil-powered incarnation would need to run 24/7 on diesel for a good 90 days a year, works perfectly fine year-round in its heat-pump-upgraded EV life.
- soco 3y ago
  Isn't this the exactly same problem you have with an ICE at -30?
- gaganyaan 3y ago
  My EV is doing just fine in -20C weather right now. Cold weather concerns are simply more FUD pushed by a dying industry that doesn't need help from people parroting them.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  At -30C or -50C people leave their ICE cars running to keep warm, too. I once ran a truck out of fuel doing that. (In my defence the fuel gauge was broken, but the logbook I was using instead was not well kept...)

PreInternet01 3y ago

The heat pump is in the car (where it is sipping a bit of battery power, 24/7, in order to keep said batteries alive). Not at the grocery store. At least, not for the purpose I'm talking about...

belltaco 3y ago

You go to the gas station in your ICE car in the same place as the story(Illinois), you cannot fill gas because the gas pumps are frozen. That sucks. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38990445 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38990445 In Canada: https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/cold-weather-causes-frozen-gas-pumps/ https://www.wcia.com/news/local-news/cold-weather-causes-fro...

creaturemachine 3y ago
Illinois is not in Canada.