Using space heater instead of HVAC system?

[medicnj]

Totally in love with my Mache. This will be my second winter with the car and when I use the heat to either heat the cabin or the windshield I have a significant drop in battery. You can buy a small 150 W space heater that plugs into the 12 V port. Anyone give any thought to doing something like this. Is it more efficient from a battery perspective although I know it’s not gonna put out a ton of heat it might be enough to take the edge off the cold along with the heated seats and steering wheel more about my rear seat passengers . Any thoughts appreciated.

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[dtbaker61]

Totally in love with my Mache. This will be my second winter with the car and when I use the heat to either heat the cabin or the windshield I have a significant drop in battery. You can buy a small 150 W space heater that plugs into the 12 V port. Anyone give any thought to doing something like this. Is it more efficient from a battery perspective although I know it’s not gonna put out a ton of heat it might be enough to take the edge off the cold along with the heated seats and steering wheel more about my rear seat passengers . Any thoughts appreciated.

pulling 120watts thru power port would be slightly LESS efficient compared to regular eHeat; you would 'lose' a few percent in the dc-dc convertor from HV to LV. And, it would not be much heat for rear passengers to share....

I would avoid using a space heater, and if you MUST, get a 12v electric blanket to spread across rear passenger laps. They are only about $40. https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Bla...ing-Protection/dp/B0BFBPB5L8/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?

tip to minimize hv battery consumption in cold weather is to turn on and warm the cabin for a good 20 minutes to get the interior mass warmed up while plugged into charger before departure.

 

[kdonnel]

Is the significant drop in battery so much that you can't use the car as you want on a daily basis?

If so I would sell the car and buy something more appropriate to your driving needs.

 

[Electric Goat]

Why not just crank up the heat in the settings? Do you really need the extra range daily?

 

[dml105]

Conservation of energy says you're going to eat up at least the same battery energy with a space heater as you would with the heater that is actually designed for the Mach-e.

I wouldn't do this.

 

[Ride_the_lightning]

Seems silly to buy an expensive car just to use a space heater. You can accomplish the same thing by just controlling the heat in the car manually and lowering the temperature. If you want to be cold that’s up to you.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Use the built-in heat, that’s more efficient than a 12V heater. Plus 150W won’t do much in cold temps, the car uses about 4 kW to keep warm in 20°F weather for comparison.

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