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To: carriage_hill
My 2002 Grand Cherokee ‘Laredo’ has a vastly smaller battery than an electric car, and doesn’t suffer in any month, from either high ac or heater usage. Why would a vehicle which is 10-15% battery, run-down so fast?

Any car with a combustion engine produces lots of waste heat as a byproduct. That's why cars need radiators to throw off the excess heat. So tapping into that excess heat to help heat the car interior in the Winter is simple using a heat exchanger. This is also why if you are ever in a car that's overheating in the Summer and you can't pull over, turn on the heat. It's not very pleasant for the passengers, but it will help extract the excess heat from the engine.

A battery powered car on the other hand produces virtually zero heat, since all the energy is very "efficiently" converted to motive power. Need heat? The only available energy source is the battery and using a battery to generate heat is expensive power-wise. The situation is made worse in Winter in that batteries, running essentially chemical reactions, are less efficient in cold temperatures, since many/most chemical reactions run slower when cooled.

81 posted on 12/14/2013 5:35:08 PM PST by Flick Lives (Got a problem with the government? Have a complaint. Get a free IRS audit!)
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To: Flick Lives

Makes perfect sense; thanks.


101 posted on 12/14/2013 6:02:30 PM PST by Carriage Hill (Peace is that brief glorious moment in history, when everybody stands around reloading.)
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