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by themafia 91 days ago
> are you running the heater constantly?

Something every car prior to this has been able to do without any impact on performance.

> means I only lose maybe 15% range.

Which could be a reasonable sacrifice if you choose to make it. It's certainly not included in the marketing for these vehicles.
2 comments
wongarsu 91 days ago
Running a heater is easier the less efficient your engine is, because there's more waste heat to work with. ICEs have the clear advantage there
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1718627440 91 days ago
If the energy is used for something intended (e.g. hot air) than it is not inefficient.
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Marsymars 91 days ago
That's not really the context of the comment though. The point is just that an EV turns ~80% of its fuel energy into motion (with the rest as heat) and an ICE turns about ~30% of its fuel energy into motion (with the rest as heat).

If you need heat, an EV needs to turn more of its fuel energy into heat, while an ICE can just repurpose what was otherwise being dumped.

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themafia 91 days ago
The second factor is your battery needs heat. So you may be forced to generate excess heat even if you aren't using it in the cabin.

The point being is that EV cars are a great idea, but the American auto market was not a good _general_ fit, and manufacturers didn't tailor their products enough to actually be successful. They really just pushed a bunch of product onto the market to capitalize on government subsidies.

Which, to me, is the real "risk." Manufacturer incompetence. That all being said my next car will probably be a hybrid.

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padjo 91 days ago
What is your point exactly? That EVs manufacturers should be held to standards higher than everyone else who markets products by focusing on the upsides? Or that we should continue to use inefficient climate destroying technology because it happened to provide a side benefit that we've become habituated to?
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nslsm 91 days ago
> That EVs manufacturers should be held to standards higher than everyone else who markets products by focusing on the upsides?

Eh, yes? They are presenting a new technology and want us to switch - they should prove their technology is superior.

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