Heating garage using Y

[DriverOne]

With the Y having a heat pump – does it have a heating element too?

If I run the "heater" in the car in an effort to keep my garage warm, am I simply cooling the front of the car in exchange for heat at the vents?

Will I net warm the garage leaving the heating on?

The garage is at about 52º and I've set the Y climate settings to 72º, with all the windows open.

 

[Magnetic Flux]

It won't be an efficient use of the heater to your point. Since a heat pump is basically rejecting the cold temperature to the outside of the car through the refrigerant phase change it will be counteracting some of the heating you are getting in the cabin. So basically your net heat gain will be the inefficiency of the heat pump system as "waste" heat to the space.

I would guess in the short term (couple hours) you would see an increase in air temperature in your garage as the heat pump system with the octo-valve may actually cool down your battery a bit in exchange for heating the air so you would be transferring the energy into a slower emitting thermal mass (heavy batteries).

I have contemplated doing this, but it seemed inefficient compared to just plugging in a basic space heater.

 

[DriverOne]

Thanks. Makes sense. I noticed in the app that (when the car's plugged in), it's got the battery warming icon. And it's pulling shore power. So I'm hoping there's a heating element for the battery at least.

 

[jcanoe]

There is no separate resistance heating unit in the Model Y or the Model 3. The Tesla Model Y/3 warms the battery via the front and rear drive unit motor stators. This generates heat that warms the coolant in the drive unit. The warmed coolant is directed to the battery pack. The warmed coolant can be also used to warm the cabin. The only resistance heating elements are in the rear window defroster,the seat heaters and the steering wheel heater (if equipped.)

 

[Watts_Up]

There is no separate resistance heating unit in the Model Y or the Model 3. The Tesla Model Y/3 warms the battery via the front and rear drive unit motor stators. This generates heat that warms the coolant in the drive unit. The warmed coolant is directed to the battery pack. The warmed coolant can be also used to warm the cabin. The only resistance heating elements are in the rear window defroster,the seat heaters and the steering wheel heater (if equipped.)

... and also the camera heater, the radar heater, the distance sensors heater...

 

[jcanoe]

... and also the camera heater, the radar heater, the distance sensors heater...

Don't forget the charging port heater.

 

[samimotor]

Some guy literally tried that and it probably raised the temp by a couple of degrees but took hours. I can't find the video but if I do, I will post it here.

 

[GeorgeC1]

Buy a heater meant for the task. They don’t cost much.