According to the Enyaq Skoda UK configurator, the Heat Pump assists with battery temperature control:

 

 

 

Strange then that the VW ID.3 information makes no mention of this, merely that the heat pump reduces battery load compared to the standard heating system.

 

Heat Pump | Electric Car Software & Tech | Volkswagen UK

 

Anyone one know whether the heat pump does actually assist with battery temperature control?

Well, to sort of answer my own question, from the German configurator 

 

 

 

 

Which translates via Google to:

 

 

So, it would appear that either the UK spec heat pump has a different function or whoever writes Skoda UKs configurator is, er, perhaps wrong. I can guess which is the right answer...

Maybe when there are Enyaq's around for owners / tester to try this they will.

 

 

 

Edited 11 January, 20215 yr by e-Roottoot

I'm sure it will have an effect on the range in cold temps, what I'm not convinced about is Skoda UK's claim that the heat pump optimises the battery temperature (with no mention of it being a more efficient method of heating the car's interior)..... 

Well if it's a decent implementation it should do both. Both Jaguar's and Tesla's heat pump systems scavenge heat from the battery and drive train to heat the cabin and vice versa. Heat is also claimed from outside air to heat the systems in the car.

I think if the heat pump option was used for battery conditioning, VW and Skoda would have made something of it - another selling point to the system. Skoda UK mention it - but don't mention the use of the heat pump for heating the cabin...

The Heat Pump works very well on the PSA Group EV's, they all have it.

If it's a refrigerant heat pump system I'm guessing this would be using the car AC system & running it in reverse to produce heat inside the vehicle or battery compartment i.e. the a/c condenser becomes the evaporator & the evaporator becomes the condenser. In heating Hot gas from the compressor goes to the indoor coil for heating instead of the outdoor coil in normal cooling mode. This is normally controlled by a 4 way solenoid valve. Heat pumps are up to 350% more efficient than direct electric heating i.e. 1kw electric input = 3.5kW heat output.

Millions of Heat Pumps (air to air type) are sold for use in commercial & residential A/C systems around the world where they can cool in summer & heat in winter.  I have one in my conservatory.

99% of all modern air to air A/C systems are heat pumps. Heating only air to water heat pumps (no cooling) are now being installed in houses & commercial buildings to replace / avoid the need for gas / oil fired boilers. You can also buy heat pump tumble driers these days. It's all about reducing carbon emissions. 

 

Below is an air to air heat pump system in heating mode.

Same system now in cooling mode.

Thanks. I do know what it does but I'm wondering why Skoda UK appear not to - according to the configurator heat pump option information.

 

I emailed Skoda UK last week asking if they thought it had a different function for the UK market but alas, no response - which is, unfortunately as good as it gets with Skoda UK in my experience.... 

Here's an explanation of the heat-pump's function in the Audi e-tron. I should imagine that the function is broadly similar in the Enyaq.

 

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7ujr5y

 

OT from the Enyaq, but being an ID.3 maybe of interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stick the main charging cable under the boot floor so you can't get to it when the boot is full. Put the ice scrapper in the boot door rather than the first door you would open, the drivers door. Simply clever!

 

That aside the Enyak is on my list of possible next cars. As a high miler I'm sure it is going to be an intertesting change/adaptation. The fast charger and the the heat pump would be on my list even if the sales blurb is so understated.

 

What I don't get is why it has taken so long for any of the manufactures to adopt it? Pretty much all cars have 90% of the kit needed in the form of the AC system which is relativley simple to adapt to heating and cooling.

 

The last thing you want if going places with your car full of people or stuff or both is to have to be charging at a charger where you need to plug in your own cable.

I am a little confused as to how this becomes an add-on expense to the tune of 1K.

 

If they have added an air conditioner (Cooling) to the car, then they have 99.5% of the hardware required to heat with the same compressor. All they need to do is add a valve so the system can run in reverse and some slightly different expansion port designs. 

 

In other words, there is no additional cost to turn a cooling only system into a heating system also. It's the same circuit running in reverse. 

Edited 26 April, 20215 yr by digifish

Everyone is new to EVs, so not many understand how a heat pump works. Seems like a good opportunity to make money, by 'adding' a heat pump and its almost all profit.

2 hours ago, Luckypants said:

Everyone is new to EVs, so not many understand how a heat pump works. Seems like a good opportunity to make money, by 'adding' a heat pump and its almost all profit.

 

This was indeed my point. Its bad faith IMO.

 

In case this is not clear to others. When you run air conditioning (cooling) it dumps heat outside and cold inside. If you run the same system with the gas flowing in the opposite direction it would dump heat inside and cold outside. There is no reason for this to cost a few dollars extra (for some additional parts). Probably less than $25 

Edited 26 April, 20215 yr by digifish

Totally agree, heat pump should be standard at no extra cost.

VW Group have been charging lots for owners being able to have features function that are already installed on their vehicle but not enabled.

Then the Option list items that need added can be ridiculously high.

 

Now they are turning out cars like recently highlighted in the Octavia Mk4 section that have not had Factory Towing Preparation fitted and it is not just a case of having this done after market and the appropriate equipment, it turns out there are vehicles that have no Type Approval from Skoda to tow anything.

 

http://thenextweb.com/news/whats-a-heat-pump-and-why-do-evs-use-them

 

http://blog.greenenergyconsumers.org/blog/the-surprising-overlap-between-heat-pumps-and-electric-cars

http://greencarreports.com/news/1124387_can-heat-pumps-solve-cold-weather-range-loss-for-evs

 

Edited 26 April, 20215 yr by e-Roottoot

Tis odd in many ways.

 

When looking at the options list, the description does nothing to help explain why you would want to purchase it. Skoda are potentially missing out on making a huge profit by  adding a diverter valve to the exsisting AC system.

 

Having it should as standard would help make the mileage more achivable too.

 

 

On 26/04/2021 at 10:13, digifish said:

 

This was indeed my point. Its bad faith IMO.

 

In case this is not clear to others. When you run air conditioning (cooling) it dumps heat outside and cold inside. If you run the same system with the gas flowing in the opposite direction it would dump heat inside and cold outside. There is no reason for this to cost a few dollars extra (for some additional parts). Probably less than $25 

 

I'm currently driving a 2020 Tesla Model 3 with no heat pump. In late 2020 they updated the cars and started making them in China. One of the updates was the addition of the heat pump.My car has HVAC but adding a heat pump means that the frunk (front boot) is quite a bit smaller so it is not juist a case of running the system backwards

 

6 hours ago, domhnall said:

 

My car has HVAC but adding a heat pump means that the frunk (front boot) is quite a bit smaller so it is not juist a case of running the system backwards

 

 

It is tho. It requires no changes to geometry. What you are witnessing is probably a new compressor design / supplier being used. They may have also increased the size of the heat exchanger (front radiator) to extract more heat from the atmosphere. If they were only dumping hear before it probably required a smaller radiator.   

In the case of the Model 3 heat pump, Tesla went for a complex solution that allows the car to scavenge excess heat from the batteries as well as pre-heating the batteries for supercharging, scavenge heat from the motors, scavenge heat (cooling) from the interior and heat the interior with scavenged heat. This has involved creating and installing their patented Octovalve which is quite bulky. I suspect the smaller frunk is a result of the Octovalve and the associated plumbing to make the whole thing work. It will be interesting to see if the heat pump technology makes it into Model s and X. The heat pump technology was developed for Model Y, which is why it was relatively easy to retrofit into Model 3.

 

I'm agreeing with the point that VAG are taking the mickey somewhat charging £1K for a heat pump in the MEB platform. My money is it will be standard when models are refreshed.

If Elon Musk has decided to build Tesla,s in the UK we might see differences in what they do for the UK and Continental European market.  Cars that suit UK roads with less concern with speed and more about efficiency and fast CCS charging. 

Edited 21 May, 20215 yr by e-Roottoot

The heat pump is standard on Norway Enyaqs.