I sure have the sense that if I drive around with the heat off, my mpgs go up. I've been leaving the fan "OFF" until things warm up some, and it can easily go into EV, if applicable. I've also been turning the fan On and Off-like if I'm too cold, lol, there's an uphill-turn on, because the engine's going to be generating excess heat anyway; turn off in an EV situation or if I'm warm enough, lol again. I do have the ability to see what the coolant temperature is, but I haven't been using it. Can I leverage that somehow? As in, keep the fan Off unless temp is above X? That value might change though, depending on what the car feels like doing. Unrelated, but I've been coasting when safe to do. It coasts very well. Any other economy tips, especially for winter?
FWIW; I'm pretty sure your heat pump is rotating anyways - since it's probably trying to heat and/or cool your traction pack. It's under ECU control; so why freeze for a few extra drops of gas - especially at today's prices. I'm too old for that and you can't take it with you...
did the hev get a heat pump as well? when i had mine, heater use reduced mpg's substantially, depending on ambient temp and our comfort zone. seat heaters and steering wheel help a lot, but there's nothing you can do about the other cold weather mpg killers
No heat pump in the hybrid. Pretty sure the HEV battery is still cooled with air from the cabin. Unless it is a short trip, I'd just leave the heat on. Though I'll wait until the coolant is fully warmed up. The reason being is that these auto systems will reduce the heat output once the cabin reaches the set temp. Then any penalty from pulling heat from the coolant is reduced. Turning the heat on and off could result in more heat pulled from the engine, as the cabin cools during the off portion.
My strategy is to turn the heat on pretty soon after getting started, but leave it very low - to where the fan is on the low side, and then slowly raise the temperature as the car and cabin heats up - like 1-2 degrees every 5-10 minutes. Also, if you have them, turn on the heated steering wheel and heated seat - my understanding is that they use the 12v, but I am no expert and could be wrong on that.
Isn't the gen5 traction packs mounted external to the car's cabin and cooled by Freon? Electronic heat pads will automatically turn-on to warm the battery.
That is so for the Prime/PHV. The hybrid is like the previous gen, under the rear seat with vents to the cabin.
Alas, no. When I walk in the afternoon, I point that big solar collector (the windshield) towards the sun.
It isn't just your sense, it is very real, and is one of numerous things included in the discussion here: Why mileage gets worse in winter See above link.
Thanks for the 2011 link! Nothing much changes though, and mine is a 'normal' Prius as well, although my scan of the first page mentions louvers, and I understand the Gen5 has auto louvers. It'll make for some good reading as I try to eke out some more mpgs. Hey, it's something to do. edit: Well, I read the thread. I think I'm going to plug in the obd dongle and check on coolant temps for a while. While not doing anything recently with this stuff, last I checked, CarScanner seemed to use a lot of phone battery, even with only several parameters. (It could be me). I'll try OBD Fusion, with maybe 5 parameters (rpm, coolant temp, oil temp, soc %, adapter voltage (one screen), and check phone battery consumption. There was a note in the thread of what temp the ICE turns on to support heater function (HEV), but unclear, to me at least. I have HVAC set to "E", as in "economy". I'd like to get some clarification for a Gen5, if possible. Perhaps in a System Description, somewhere? It's been a little warmer around here of late, but that's going to change. I live on top of a hill (1500') and usually drive maybe 22 miles to walk at a golf course (they plow the front nine). But I have to cross the river, and that's maybe 50' above sea level. Plus there are rolling hills. Anyway, not flat.
