Does the FFE use a heat pump?

Does any one know if the FFE use the air conditioner as a heater. Or is cabin heating strictly done by resistance heating.

The common understanding is that the A/C system (electrical compressor) provides cooling, and a resistive element provdes heating. This is corroborated by the power use of each as shown on the display, (low power draw for A/C, very high draw for heat).

The battery thermal management system also has heating and cooling to maximize battery performance. The cabin A/C system is leveraged to provide cooling to the battery, but it's unclear if the cabin heater provides the battery warming, or if there is a separate (presumably smaller) element used for warming the battery.

In any case, it would certainly conserve energy (and weight) to use the same system for both heating and cooling. Didn't one of the EV's just announce they were doing exactly this in the last few months? I can't recall which one, but I'm certain one of them did.

EDIT: I was thinking of the 2013 Leaf. It definitely uses a heat pump for more efficient heating (as discussed here).

And this image describes the various FFE systems, but is somewhat confusing.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x99knmvoo4nk6o9/Ford_Allelectric_Vehicle.pdf [Dropbox link]
http://web.archive.org/web/20120913004405/http://media.ford.com/images/10031/Ford_Allelectric_Vehicle.pdf [Alternate - Archive.org link]

#2 is described as the HVAC compressor. HVAC = Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. But #9 is the coolant heater, which "may be circulated to the battery to optimize performance."

So it sounds like they simply using the conventional term "HVAC" for #2, but in reality it's just for cooling the coolant circulated by #3. And the heater in #9 is used for the cabin, and also for the battery pack.

In other words, my initial statement is most likely correct, despite the confusing diagram.


WP

no it does not.

The Nissan LEAF does in the 2013 and it's very efficient. We had the 2011 and the Heat Pump uses 1/2 the energy of the 2011. Compared to our 2013 FFE our LEAF uses 1/4 the energy for Air Cond. I think someday all vehicles will use a Heat Pump! since they are so efficient.

I don't live in a COLD area but I have hear from others that do and it's just as efficient in the cold.

WP, that's a broken link.

Parzival said:

WP, that's a broken link.

Click to expand...

Well it wasn't broken when I posted it 2 months ago.

It was a diagram of the car showing all the subsystems with brief descriptions of each. There may be a newer one out there if you search for it.

EDIT: Here's a copy that still exists.

WP

Sorry, I didn't notice someone revived an old thread. I updated your post with alternate links to the same document.