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Installer recommends an electric garage heater. Is it necessary? I’m in the Chicago land area
- Thread starter Jakub1
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dedicatedtek
Member
Shelburne
Member
I live in the northwestern corner of MA. In the winter, it's almost as cold here as in Chicago. I've had my M3 since September of 2020. I don't have a garage so it is always parked outside and I always charge it outside. There has never been a problem due to cold weather. If the car gets covered with snow and ice I just preheat it before leaving. Yes, a certain amount of charging energy is lost due to the cold but I'm sure you'll waste far more energy needlessly heating your garage than you will maintaining the charge in your car's battery on cold days. Don't get it!
Midnightsun
Active Member
Not required but sure is nice. We keep our garage at around 60f. Cars are always toasty during the cold winter months and the battery is also. If your garage is well insulated, why not? At least you have the option and you decide if you want it on or off. I have a 24 x 24 garage with 12' ceilings with only 2x 1000w base board heaters which works just fine. Not sure why they are quoting 7.5 and 10kw units unless there is no insulation.
Sort of defeats any environmental benefit of driving an electric car.
In olden times it was said that a heated garage would cause your car to corrode from the road salt more quickly. Certainly that would be true in theory, no idea what practical difference it makes in modern cars.
In olden times it was said that a heated garage would cause your car to corrode from the road salt more quickly. Certainly that would be true in theory, no idea what practical difference it makes in modern cars.
Birdsfan
Member
Absolute waste of money unless your garage is fitted out with water and a drain. If you plan on washing your car in your garage in the winter then yes, get it. Short of that, set your car to precondition on the app, that's what it's there for. Your car will be toasty warm even on the coldest day.
Midnightsun
Active Member
Seeing all the negative answers here I guess it has a lot to do where you live. You cannot build a home here that does not have an insulated and heated garage complete with drain and water. let me reword that, you can but nobody would. Even a used home from way back would be difficult to find without. My dads home is 60+ years old and has all the features metioned above. Location, location, location.
If the garage is only for your Tesla, then this just seems totally misguided. The Tesla has a heat pump in it already, a WAY more efficient heater than the electric heater being suggested. And if the Tesla is plugged in (the whole point) then you can run the Tesla heat pump whenever you need to. Adding a very inefficient electric heater to the garage makes no sense at all.
Obviously if the garage is going to have your home gym in it too...totally different story.
Obviously if the garage is going to have your home gym in it too...totally different story.
If you spend time AND never open the garage door.
The second you open the door to drive in/out, the heated air gets sucked right out.
Find another installer and put a bad review of them.
Late to the party but, yeah, not necessary.
My Chicago garage is unattached and unheated. I’ve had my Model 3 in there since 2018 and, at around 45k miles, still have roughly the original rated battery range thanks to being plugged in and set to maintain between 70% & 80% most nights.
My condo also has an attached garage with an electric heater but that’s there because it’s under one of the units and they’d have excessive heat bills if the garage was just an unregulated cold sink. It’s a trade off for the association because the garage is shared.
Basically, if heating your garage would benefit the rest of your home, it might be worth it but it’s no benefit to your car.
My Chicago garage is unattached and unheated. I’ve had my Model 3 in there since 2018 and, at around 45k miles, still have roughly the original rated battery range thanks to being plugged in and set to maintain between 70% & 80% most nights.
My condo also has an attached garage with an electric heater but that’s there because it’s under one of the units and they’d have excessive heat bills if the garage was just an unregulated cold sink. It’s a trade off for the association because the garage is shared.
Basically, if heating your garage would benefit the rest of your home, it might be worth it but it’s no benefit to your car.
No. It uses a heat pump, which moves heat from outside the car into the car.
Net heating would be however much energy the heat pump uses itself.
$2.1k for electric heaters!?
You need to heat the car, not the garage! Better to use the built-in pre-conditioning of the battery off the plug, I expect.
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I once heard heated garages during wintertime rusts out cars (and other metal objects) faster by raising humidity levels and causing condensation.
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A buddy heater and a propane tank would be significantly cheaper for occasional use.
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