A lot of attention is turned to more efficient ways of heating up the cabin like heat pumps, using waste heat from motor(s) and battery etc, but I don’t see as many people talking about another important factor which is how well the car is insulated. Are there any companies which claim their EVs are better insulated than others or something like that?
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Chevy Bolt EUV here… You get what you pay for… I always feel in the winter losing 40% range and staying warm is a hard trade-off. Insulation would be good but just wear a jacket and run my heated seat and steering wheel. I might just have to upgrade to a Tesla next year.
The extra efficiently from better hearing system dwarfs the differences in insulation currently. No one is more efficient than Tesla heat pump system currently.
The roof glass is probably the biggest issue. Get one with a metal roof and it should be better insulated for sound and heat.
That’s why I don’t understand so many manufacturers making glass roofs without a built in shade. That little piece of fabric doesn’t just help with glare, it adds a surprising amount of insulation on hot or cold days
There might be some reason for this (again I am not a pro, but just spit balling)- rollover rates on crash of EV is much lower, so I am suspecting they don’t care as much to ensure roof integrity. A strong roof is probably a legacy of gas autos, so anyone who is starting fresh is probably much more likely to question it than those trying to have a ev car lineup similar to their gas car lineup.
Also for the same area, is glass heavier than steel / aluminum?
I can tell you that the quietest EV I’ve driven is also the one with the worst efficiency, Audi etron, and that’s probably for a reason. It is incredibly solid.
The Audi etron has lots of double pain glass and the doors are crazy heavy with insulation. In addition it has an automatic slide to cover the top glass. It’s mostly to cut down on noise and it is really plush and silent. It probably helps with insulation too. They also have a very good heat pump with electric back up.
The etron list almost no range hit at colder temperatures.
Unfortunately all that weight takes a toll on efficiency. It’s just not very efficient to start with. It just doesn’t get worse with temperature.
“almost no range hit” thats wildly misleading, the etron has very similar loss of range as other ev’s in cold weather as many tests show, e.g. https://www-motor-no.translate.goog/audi-elbil-lading/bor-du-velge-stor-eller-liten-audi-e-tron/119970?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp if you correct for battery size, heat pump teslas and the korean cars are very efficient in the cold.
Audi Q8 etron probably leads in this regard. You can get a base model without the sunroof and it’s an Audi so its selling point is already general solidity, build quality and nvh.
Cost of heating the cabin is pretty negligible compared to the amount of energy you use while driving. I’m not even sure it would be worth the added weight.