AC energy consumption higher than heat pump?

[gottagofast]

Weather is starting to warm up some, 80 degrees today, so I used my AC for a decent amount of time for the first time today

I had the AC set to 70 degrees, just going by this 1 time trip the energy consumption seemed a good bit higher than my heat pump when it was 35+ degrees outside

Is this correct? Any research showing the AC uses more energy

 

[ATPMSD]

Perhaps. The Tesla heat pump draws heat from many sources, such as the electric motors, so in a sense it is collecting a portion of the heat for “free” and then dumping it into the cabin. When the car cools there is no free “cold” air thus the heat pump must “create” it.

 

[gottagofast]

Perhaps. The Tesla heat pump draws heat from many sources, such as the electric motors, so in a sense it is collecting a portion of the heat for “free” and then dumping it into the cabin. When the car cools there is no free “cold” air thus the heat pump must “create” it.

Oh I didn’t realize the heat pump was used for cooling too

 

[rpiotro]

70°? You need to remove your woolen undies.

 

[pnwadventures]

Oh I didn’t realize the heat pump was used for cooling too

I can’t say I know how the heat pump in any Tesla works (and mine predates its inclusion), but in general, that is how all heat pumps work: bidirectionally.

 

[gottagofast]

70°? You need to remove your woolen undies.

I don’t feel the temperature you set it to is accurate, it feels 5-10 degrees hotter in the car than the temp you set it to

It was 80 outside but the inside of my car was 100+, setting it to 70 made it feel like 80 in the car

 

[mpgxsvcd]

The preconditioning system is capable of pulling a significant amount of power in the right conditions.

This shows a 2022 Model 3 Performance pulling 12 KW while preconditioning in Park.

 

[gottagofast]

The preconditioning system is capable of pulling a significant amount of power in the right conditions.

This shows a 2022 Model 3 Performance pulling 12 KW while preconditioning in Park.

View attachment 1027985

Everyone always acted like the AC energy usage was so low that it wasn’t even noticeable, when I read about these cars before I bought one

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Everyone always acted like the AC energy usage was so low that it wasn’t even noticeable, when I read about these cars before I bought one

With the heat pump it is low. It all just depends on what it is doing. 12 KW is max that you will see. Typically it is negligible if you are just running the A/C.

Remember preconditioning for supercharging is trying to get that battery pack above 132 degrees F. That is an incredible amount of power if you are doing it quickly.

 

[ABQP3D]

Everyone always acted like the AC energy usage was so low that it wasn’t even noticeable, when I read about these cars before I bought one

It is pretty low. You can see climate energy usage in the energy app. Slowing down a few MPH will have a much bigger impact.