Model 3 Heater Race! Heat Pump vs PTC In -20F

Kyle and Alyssa freeze their asses off for yet another cold weather test! This time they race the PTC resistive heater in a 2019 Model 3 against a 2021 Model 3 with a Heat Pump

We would really appreciate it if you subscribe to our channel! The more subscribers we have, the more awesome opportunities we will be able to bring to you!

Find all of our Amazon must-haves here:

Kyle on Twitter: @itskyleconner
Kyle on Instagram: @Virtualkyle

For more behind the scenes content:
Twitter: @Out_of_Spec
Instagram: @OutofSpecReviews

If you liked this video, we recommend checking out some of our other channels!

#Tesla #Model3 #EV

[KyleConner]

Huge thanks again to Alyssa for braving the cold with me and sitting in a frozen car for a silly YouTube video! The results are not what I would have expected at all. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts as I’m definitely not an HVAC expert.

One note: at the end Alyssa mentions taking the PTC car out of Auto - she did this around the 30 minute mark - something to keep in mind.

[markstipulkoski]

Not fair, Kyle generates more hot air than Alyssa!🤣

[alexnutcasio]

A more meaningful test would be how much total energy did each use over time?

[td_kdname]

I wish they'd have mentioned how much battery capacity was used for the test in the two cars. That would be valuable info for estimating range on cold days and whether the HVAC used less power than the resistive heater.

[keco]

The fact that the car can get the cabin 100 degrees hotter than the outside is impressive

[DkKrombx]

Something isn't right, my 2020 Model 3 with PTC heaters starts blowing actual hot air within 30 seconds of a completely cold soaked start even in below zero (F) temperatures on auto. I took mine out just a couple days ago with barely 5 minutes of preconditioning in -10F weather and it was gloves off warm and comfortable the whole time. Usually on high/defrost I get the notification saying the cabin has reached temperature (82F) within 10 minutes of starting it from the app, the windows will be melting fast and the fans will be at the highest setting. I see consumption numbers over 1500 Wh/Mi in exchange but the heat definitely works pretty much immediately.

[vincentrobinette]

One thing that makes a HUGE difference, is whether it's drawing in outside air, or, whether it's recirculating the air inside the car. A heating element has a certain temperature rise, so, if the intake air is too cold, you may never reach setpoint, because the wattage of the heater Vs. CFM of airflow will not allow discharge heat to ever become that hot. When recirculating, the temperature will rise, because the heating element is adding its temperature rise to the warmer air from the interior of the vehicle. If the heater is in recirculating mode, turning up the fans is the right thing to do, because the more thermal load on a PTC heater, the more wattage it will draw.(until rated maximum) If using fresh air intake, turning up the fans reduces temperature rise, and the car will never get warm. Defrost mode uses fresh air, to maintain lowest possible humidity. Again, it may be a mistake, to run the fans too fast in defrost mode.

[Daily-Ai-Driver]

Alyssa's passenger vents were blowing directly at the seat just above the thermometer, while Kyle's was split upwards and to either side of the thermometer... I would love to see the range loss comparison for both cars to heat the cabins! Kyle and Alyssa, thank y'all for the dedication on these real-world

[TheBitGuy]

I suspect the heat pump doesn't even work at minus 20. So the car is probably using the motors to generate heat at least up to a certain point. So the heat pump may win because it technically has 2 sources of heat.

[andrewt]

I can't confirm 100%, but I'm fairly certain the heat pump model used the induction motor coils to heat up, which then sends that warmer oil through the heat exchanger and then to the refrigerant heat exchanger. Last night when it was -7F, I got in the car after sitting for a couple hours and when I got to the stop sign at the end of the block, the power meter on display still showed power being used even though I was stopped.
I didn't have Scan My Tesla up and running, but next time I want to try and remember to see what it's doing. The efficiency and efficacy of the heat pumps really ramps up with temperature. I notice above ~20F OAT, the heat pump uses a lot less energy keeping the cabin warm.

[CheddarKungPao]

Thanks to both of you, especially Alyssa for enduring this cold to bring us this test. I thought the resistive heater would be faster too. Awesome result!

[SM-rnxy]

Props to Alyssa for enduring another Out Of Spec Trial. One note - higher fan speed = more air getting sucked in from outside? It the PTC heater is a constant power (eg 3KW) the extra air will slow down heating up the cabin. Depends on how well the car handles recirculation.

[AirmanJH]

As for the air speed, it shouldn’t matter. The heater is still producing the max number of thermal units. It’s just dispersing it faster so the peak heat doesn’t feel as warm at the vent.

[dorvinion]

My experience with a PTC Model 3 and a HP Model Y is that they seem to get warmer faster than in your tests, even when outside. Recirculate probably would have helped both.
We store ours in a garage so even when its -10F outside its still 32F in the car so that certainly helps as well in day to day situations.


Below -10C/14F the heat pump is ineffective at pulling heat from the atmosphere so the way it heats is to run air through the cabin evaporator and cabin condenser in series to extract the heat from running the compressor itself.

[bshah]

You are both real stars for your cold condition testing.

[ldmcnutt]

Alyssa is right about the fan speed. With resistive heaters, the hotter the element is, the higher the resistance, which means less amperage and less wattage output. The higher the fan speed, the more heat removed from the coil by cold air and the lower temperature of the heating element, which means lower resistance. Lower resistance means higher current and more wattage output

[djand]

In general, a heatpump is 6x more efficient at heating than resistive heat. It's easier to move heat than to create heat, even in low temps.

[iPhil]

Seems like the heat pump heater is capable of being software updated vs the PTC version.

[fulachs]

The same test with AC service menu open would be very interesting with all the temps shown there.

[brandonhaynes]

My wife and I have the auto vs fan speed discussion about every time we ride together! I’m the auto speed and she thinks the other way. In an ice car faster fan speed just blows more cold air until the engine warms up.

As the owner of a heat pump 2021 Tesla Model 3, I’m surprised it took this long with either car! Like watching the extreme tests😁