Seriously. Why has this not become standard in cars yet? Why must I rely on the engine to warm up the coolant before I get heat in my car? If there was an electric heating box, I'd have hot air in about a minute, if that! AND on top of that, lets say I want to turn my car off and sit inside. I can put my car in accessory mode and run the radio and my heated seats... But the air from the vents will go cold in about 5 minutes, if that. So I can warm my seat, but not the rest of the cabin when the car is off? Seriously? What's up with this. Why haven't car manufactures made electric heating standard by now...

Rawr rawr rawr... I'm thinking about writing BMW/MB/Lexus a letter and see what they say.

1/23/2011 5:12:50 AM

you would need some pretty serious batteries

1/23/2011 8:24:25 AM

Quote :

"I can put my car in accessory mode and run the radio and my heated seats... But the air from the vents will go cold in about 5 minutes, if that."

i've never experienced this

1/23/2011 9:55:16 AM

Quote :

"you would need some pretty serious batteries"

This.

The average hair dryer puts out between 1000 and 1500 watts. So figure on needing at least 100 amps with your car's 12v electrical system.

Now you know why.

1/23/2011 11:38:46 AM

It isn't impossible though. It could become much more common when cars move to higher voltage electrical systems. A lot of hybrids have them, like the prius, which I think also has an electric a/c compressor so that the a/c doesn't quit when the engine is off.. and obviously all the pure electric cars have them, like the tesla roadster and the nissan leaf. Dunno about the volt. It probably has one too.

What I wanna know is... if so many of these hybrids have crazy-high-voltage batteries, why hasn't some wiseass actually put an electric turbo on one of those?! Pretty sure the 12v system in conventional ICE cars is the only reason why that hasn't been done on ordinary cars, but an Escape hybrid has like a 300volt battery, right? 'leccy turbo that please.

1/23/2011 12:01:26 PM

its just dumb that's why... you'd have to have a HUGE alternator, and a big battery bank.

Now, if you really want this affect... get a block heater and plug your car in when you park it... Use house energy not car energy to warm your motor.

1/23/2011 1:29:10 PM

out of curiosity does anyone know what size heaters electric cars use? I'm assuming just some kind of high voltage elements, but what kind of wattage?

1/23/2011 5:51:12 PM

Quote :

"you would need some pretty serious batteries "

is this just your opinion or fact?

It doesn't take a huge heater to heat up the volume/space inside a vehicle... A small 1500 watt or 2000 watt ceramic heater (similar to a 120v space heater you plug into a wall), should be sufficient for a small vehicle... Larger vehicles can be equiped with larger or dual units (perhaps one for the rear passenger vents). A 600amp battery should be able to power a 2000 watt unit for at least 1 hour.

Heater cores are heavier than a small electric ceramic unit, so there would be slight weight savings.


[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 7:44 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 7:22:09 PM

Quote :

"Heater cores are heavy"

LOL

1/23/2011 7:37:56 PM

Lol, I meant relatively. 15lbs vs. a 2lb electric version...


meh, so I guess the weight savings idea is out But still, the efficiency!!!!1!!!11



[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 7:43 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 7:40:32 PM

rbrthwrd is right, it will kill your battery very fast....

it's just not worth the extra weight and cost to put in a electric system when the engine makes more than enough extra heat.... now you could put in a re-circulator probably or something to keep the still warm engine heating the coolant through the heat exchanger...

as danmangt40 said some hybrids have this, as they already have the batteries....

Quote :

"A 600amp battery should be able to power a 2000 watt unit for at least 1 hour."

battery life (recharge cycles of a lead acid battery) will substantially deteriorate running this. possible yes, smart helllll no. you're a EE right? shouldn't you know this? (then again most battery info is a CH class....)

1/23/2011 7:52:07 PM

I'm still in EE undergrad... (fml) I just computed simple power supply/consumption calculations.

Nvm. I realized the error. silly me.

Still, the idea of something like this would be nice...



[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 8:03 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 8:02:36 PM

all of the above, and:

OP: remote start would be an easier solution if your car is parked outside, and if your car is in the garage, it should be already at a comfortable temperature until the engine heats up. Smarphone apps have a potential to bring remote start back to polularity, i.e. chevy volt app, and maybe something is out there that works with sync?

Quote :

"wiseass actually put an electric turbo on one of those?! "

because exhaust energy otherwise goes wasted, while electrical charge can be used for other uefule things, like propelling the car forward?

also, wouldn't it technically be an electric supercharger?

1/23/2011 8:11:38 PM

At first, I was like...

Why the hell would you have an electric supercharger for an electric car?

Then I was like...






^ I had gone to cookout and placed my order thru the drivethrough. I parked and turned my car off for 15 minutes, but listened to music and kept my rump warm as I ate. it occured to me after I finished eating that my vents were no longer warm... hence the idea came up...

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 8:19 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 8:18:04 PM

WTF are your heater cores made of ??
Mine in the jeep was about 3lbs of copper , the rest was water weight.

1/23/2011 9:29:06 PM

Quote :

"A 600amp battery should be able to power a 2000 watt unit for at least 1 hour."

at a huge amperage draw which is going to really tax that battery. plus at some point someone is going to come and put a major load on the thing to start the engine. i didn't say it was impossible, it would just take serious batteries.

1/23/2011 10:07:29 PM

^ The error is in that statement I made. A 600amp battery would not hold a 1500 watt appliance for over an hour. A 600 amp hour battery would though, but most automotive 12v batteries are just 55Ah. You might get 6 minutes, if that. A small 300watt unit would be fine, but would only be warm at best.

I need to stop coming up with whack ideas when I don't have sleep.

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 10:23 PM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 10:21:36 PM

i thought that was really high but i didn't feel like googling battery specs

1/23/2011 10:43:45 PM

I have always wondered why a car A/C couldnt have a reversing valve to run the refrigerant system as a heat pump. This would be quicker heat with no inadvertent load on the engine. When the engine warms to temp, the heater core could take over.

Just a thought.

1/23/2011 11:04:44 PM

1/23/2011 11:12:34 PM