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<\/p>\nThe entire 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning lineup will come standard with a heat pump system, a highly desired electric vehicle feature that will likely improve cold weather efficiency.<\/p>\n
A growing number of EVs today come with heat pumps, so it was a surprising omission when Ford announced the F-150 Lightning wouldn’t have such a system. That was especially true, since the Lightning isn’t a budget EV, and certainly has the physical space to incorporate such a system. EVs with heat pumps include the whole Tesla lineup, the BMW i4 and iX, Hyundai’s Ioniq cars and their Kia and Genesis cousins, and now Ford’s electric pickup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash<\/p>\n
We learned of this news after Ford announced the\u00a0new Flash trim for the F-150 Lightning,\u00a0which is positioned between XLT and Lariat. In the list of features provided in the press release, a standard heat pump was cited, prompting us to reach out to Ford for comment.<\/p>\n
To our surprise, we were told all F-150 Lightning, from the $97,995\u00a0Platinum Black down to the $49,995 standard range Lightning Pro would come standard with a heat pump in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlike internal combustion vehicles that use engine waste heat to warm the passengers, EVs need an actual heating system, which is usually a simple resistive heater or a heat pump system.<\/p>\n
An electric vehicle heat pump\u00a0draws external air and compresses it. It then uses the heat generated in the condenser to increase the temperature in the passenger cabin and the vehicle’s high-voltage battery. Heat pump systems are typically about three times more efficient than the resistive heaters used in electric vehicles.<\/p>\n
Therefore, heating the passengers and the battery in cold weather uses three times less energy, and that energy can be used for other purposes\u2014like propelling the vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A recent real-world test by Autocar demonstrated that EVs with a heat pump system had an average winter range loss of about 25% compared to their WLTP-estimated range, while those without a heat pump lost an average of around 34%. That’s not an insignificant difference, and can in some instances, make the difference in making your destination or coming up short.<\/p>\n
Is it worth trading in your older F-150 Lightning for the ’24 model to get a heat pump? Not really, we think; if you’re not\u00a0pushing the limit of your range frequently, it may not be worthy of an entire upgrade. But it is a huge benefit to the Lightning moving forward, and a decent reason to wait for a ’24 if you’ve been thinking of pulling the trigger.\u00a0<\/p>\n