Air Conditioning Lowers Hybrid Fuel Economy

Nice avatar, for some reason I like it.

 

They tested the Insight, Prius GEN I, Civic, Prius GEN II, Accord, Escape, and Silverado.

 

Nobody seemed to have noticed this part of the quote

Haven't I read here that the first generation Prius had to run the engine for the air conditioner to work? And I'm positive that the Insight has to.

EDIT: Never mind, now that I read the article, they did test the second generation Prius.

 

Ahhh, here's the problem...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE("The article")</div>

It doesn't surprise me that you would take a big milage hit with the A/C set at MAX COOL.

 

I usually keep the a/c off. I try to keep the screen off too. The way i see it. If those batteries don't have a constant drain on them, they will fill easier. Once full they can start assisting the gas engine more.. then i can start getting higher mpg. I do the same technique when driving my parents 400h. I can get over 30mpg in that if i try.

 

I don't know the exact specs, but I"m guessing the wattage of the screen is maybe 30watts compared to possibly 1000 watts for the air based on how hard your running it?... same for the heater... I thought I read there are two 750 watt heaters, but that could be wrong too.
LCD screens pull almost nothing.. it may actually be more like 10 watts? just a dome light may pull more.

Maybe someone with more knowledge can chip in, but I"m pretty sure the MFD screen is nothing to even consider or worry about.

 

I think that the main problem with this study is that apparently they did not control for whether the AC is electric or is powered directly from the ICE. If it is ICE-powered then the ICE must run continuously for the AC to work, thus negating much of the advantage of a hybrid. On the other hand, while electric AC still means that additional energy is used, it is not necessary for the ICE to run at all times. Depending on the nature of a particular drive, it may not even operate much more than if the AC is not running.

For example, on my normal commute in the San Francisco Bay Area, I usually have my battery indicator into green for some portion of the trip. Sometimes, I manage to fill all bars on some long or steep downgrades. Running the AC during these commutes simply means that I actually convert some of the gravitational gains into cooling rather than throwing them away.

Note that all hybrids sold in America prior to the 2004 Prius used ICE-powered AC; I don't know how it is powered in post-2003 non-Prius hybrids.

 

Today it reached 44 degrees celsius(111 F) in the ultra hot Australian sun.... lolz...I wouldnt even contemplate not using the a/c just for the jollies of some mileage gains...

The difference Ive found is between 5-15% - depending on how long you have it on, the strength it is on, and what type of driving and terrain you are managing during this time...

 

I agree. We have a long and cold winter here in Montreal, QC. I can see the MPG of my 05 YM plumetting (6.8 litres/100 kms) and we haven't even got into the thick of winter yet. I could use some advice on how to improve fuel efficiency in winter. I park indoors in a heated environment 99% of the time. If I parked outdoors, I suppose it would be much worse. I use Automatic Climate Control all the time and have it set at the lowest possible temperature: 18 degrees celsius. Switching to manual and reducing the temperature even more would be both uncomfortable and inconvenient. Is there anything else I can do other than pray for a mild winter and an early spring?

 

As you have just joined today there is lots of information on mileage and how to maximize it. Also in cold climates the use of a block heater has been shown to increase mileage along with helping to get heat into the car quicker. Also blocking off the grill of the car increases the mileage by keeping the ICE (gas engine) warmer in really cold climates. 6.8 in cold climates is not unexpected. searching for block heater and blocking off radiator in the search engine will bring results.

http://priuschat.com/Blocking-off-the-radiator-t14030.html

http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...hl=block+heater

 

My air conditioner was turned on the day I started driving my 05 Red Prius and has never been turned off since. I live in So. Florida and we have a great deal of humidity and summer heat that we must put up with. During the hottest part of the summer, (92-95) degrees, I see a decrease of 2-3 mpg which gives me an average of 49-50 mpg. During the cooler months, I am averaging 51-53 mpg. I am certain that my mileage would drop considerably if I was living and driving in a colder climate where my heater-defroster was in use. I drive about half of the time on the highway and the rest in town with lots of lights and heavy traffic. I keep up with the traffic in town and 75 on the freeway. My 06 Red Prius should be at the dealers in Feb. B) B)

 

I'm looking into using less gasoline and being greener I guess you could say. The whole hybrid thing has really got me puzzled, and I came here in hopes that someone could explain it to me.

I live in Tampa FL, where most of the year is spent with the air conditioning on, and most of my driving is done on the freeway doing 65-75 mph.

The way I see it a diesel car would be a lot greener (for me at least) because of the factors mentioned above. A quick look at ford.co.uk shows numerous diesel models available to the Europeans, ranging from the midsized Ford Mondeo with a diesel that gets 56mpg to the Ford Focus that gets 70mpg. Add to that the ability to get BioDiesel with 20% vegetable oil and that significantly lowers greenhouse emissions. I'm really interested in doing a "Total Conversion" so I could run 100% BioDiesel. Not to mention there will be a lot fewer batteries that will one day sit in a garbage fill.

Now I realize that these cars are not yet available in the States, but coming Jun (July?) 1st of 2k6, the US will adopt the same diesel standards that Europe does and hopefully we will start seeing these vehicles over here.

In the meantime the VW TDI cars get 45-56 mpg depending on year and model. But I really would like to see a nice domestic car company produce a modern turbo diesel comuter car (not just F350's/Trucks)

Thoughts?

 

Aren't diesels highly polluting vehicles?

Andy

 

Well there are several facets to that question the way I understand it. The Diesel engine was originally designed to run on straight peanut oil. But of course in the economy it is a lot cheaper to just pump crude from the ground and sell it. Petrol diesel fuel in europe is has a lower sulfur content than the mix that the US currently uses (until Jun 1st) which makes for less pollutants. Also most of the gas stations there (EU) have BD20 available (BioDiesel 20% 80% crude). When burning vegetable oil it helps lubricate the engine. Things last longer and your burning carbon that the plant absorbed in the first place, thus your recylcing this instead of pumping it from the ground and releasing into the air.

My hope is instead of US farmers being paid to not grow on their land, that they will begin growing soybean and other crops that can be used to create 100% Veg BioDiesel. Thus giving the US power over our fuel supply.

 

deleted by wstander as redundantly redundant, as defined by the office of redundant redundancy office

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(htmlspinnr @ Jul 16 2006, 03:07 PM) [snapback]287257[/snapback]</div>

Not sure what you mean?.... if the temp goes up outside, the comfortable range inside still does not change?
I mean if you feel comfortable at 74 degrees or even 78 and the temp goes up to 115, the air conditioner will have to work harder to maintain your normal comfort range even if it means running full blast to do so.

How could you define a comfort range?...
The only thing I see is to leave your temp where you have it, or move your comfort range up?..but then you won't be comfortable!

 

In the LA area, the temps here have been at or above 100 for the past couple of weeks, and my mileage has dropped from 48.6 to 48.3. I do 90% freeway, 500 miles a week, and auto a/c about 72-76. I would have expected more of a drop. B)

 

Yeah but teh A/C is going to rob the powa of anycar ytou drive. That's why I like to roll with my windas down.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tha Master of Jive @ Jul 20 2006, 07:45 AM) [snapback]289342[/snapback]</div>

that works up to about 93 degrees where I live in this low humid area, but when it gets to above 100 or even 108 "like yesterday".. that just won't work.... unless you use the air to get the temp to a reasonalble level and your on the freeway at freeway speeds.

I find that I don't like getting to my destination stinking, sweating, and exhausted from the heat.

But then again, I'm not acclimated to the heat like those who work in it every day. I have lived in Washington the last 23 years where you almost never need air except 2 months out of the year.

The other issue is wife and kids.... just because you can "tolerate" 98 degrees in your car, do you really want to make the whole family cranky everytime you go somewhere?

What does that make us look like to your friends and family?.. like a few bucks is more important than them?

To each his own.. but as for me.. I don't mind spending a little money to be comfortable... why even have air in our cars and homes and workplaces if we are not going to use it?

If we are saying we are energy concious, why do we try to save a buck in our car, but waste it in our workplaces?
Is wasting energy is "ok" if its not our money?

I have been making short trips lately and when I do I have the air going full blast... It causes me to only get 33.6 mpg... but its worth it.

If I were to turn air completly off and never run it, that figure would go up to 48 or so and if I got out on the open road and ran longer distances, it would to up over 54.