As winter chills hit cities like Chicago, many car owners wonder if switching to an electric vehicle could offer an unexpected benefit: heating their garage. On the surface, using an EV to preheat your garage sounds convenient. But can an EV really replace a space heater? Spoiler alert: Not effectively.
EVs Are Great at Heating Themselves—Not the Garage
Most modern EVs come equipped with preconditioning features, allowing owners to schedule cabin heating before hitting the road. This is great for personal comfort but does little to heat the surrounding space. Why? Because EV heaters are designed to warm a small, sealed cabin—not a two-car garage.
EVs with heat pumps work by moving heat around rather than generating it. If you leave your EV’s windows down, the heat will escape into the garage, but it’ll happen slowly and inefficiently. In fact, heat pumps might even cool the garage as they pull heat from the air.
Inefficiency and High Energy Costs
Using an EV’s climate system to warm up an entire garage wastes both energy and time. The process would take hours and drain more battery power than the car can recoup overnight with a 120V charger. EVs equipped with resistive heaters are slightly better at generating heat but still fall short compared to a simple space heater.
A user on Reddit summed it up well: a car heater isn’t designed for large spaces—it’s built to warm up a small cabin quickly. Trying to heat a full garage could also put unnecessary strain on your EV’s systems.
Better Solutions for a Warm Garage
Instead of using an EV, experts recommend these options:
- Space heaters: Affordable and designed to warm large areas effectively.
- Mini-split systems: More efficient and capable of maintaining a steady temperature.
- Garage insulation: Prevents heat loss and reduces the need for extra heating.
The Bottom Line
While EVs excel at warming themselves, they’re not designed to heat large spaces like garages. Investing in proper insulation or a dedicated heating solution will save energy—and keep both you and your car comfortable.
