Using the AC / Heat while parked for extended periods

1) you pollute and emit CO2 without end
2) the car is built to move around, not to keep it still in substitution of a house with A/C - it is inefficient, wasteful - the detriment is not to the car - but to the environment!
3) you guys in the USA still are paying gas too cheaply - go at 4-5$/gal, then let's see if you want to camp a whole night with a car turned on all night (!!!) for AC use or 1-2hrs parked outside waiting for somebody.

PS: you have a car built to save the environment, to consume less, to emit as little CO2 as possible - it is simply beyond me to think you would want to keep it on standing still for hours instead of, at least, driving around...

 

No problem, so long as you have enough gas. Just leave the car in Ready and power down stuff you don't need, like the headlights. The A/C is entirely electrical and will only run the engine if it needs more electricity. The heater uses hot coolant and can run the engine just to get hot water.

I suspect Munich is less hot and humid than SC or MS.

 

It is a great feature of our wonderful cars. To be able to have a portable comfort zone where ever we go, and at a very reasonable price. Don't try to sit and listen to the radio in ACC mode, that has proven to be harmful to the 12 volt battery on previous versions of the Prius.

 

just like driving efficiency, the prius is very efficient sitting in stop and go traffic, or just sitting. very low fuel use and emissions. enjoy the cool!

 

Like Pakitt says, the car is made to move around so that air can move through the grille and A/C condenser. Using the A/C while in Park is not efficient for any cars.

 

I absolutely would not idle a car without stop/start. It is just too wasteful. Since purchasing the Prius, I have no issues with running heat or AC for long periods of time. I haven't had to yet. For short periods, I run the AC really cold or the heat really hot prior to stopping so that I buy that much more time before it gets uncomfortable. Running AC for a couple of hours would be no issue to me. Be sure to use ECO mode to optimize fuel usage more.

 

There was a post thread on here about a forum member camping in his vehicle for about 8 hours at a time. Shame I cannot find the link, as he or she detailed and documented it well.

 

For the most part, not quite the way I see it.

1) The Prius has a very efficient air conditioning system compared to other cars and I see its ability to maintain a comfortable environment while stationary with minimal energy use as one of the car's more interesting benefits.

2) The Prius's greatest advantage compared to traditional cars appears to me to be when it is stationary or near stationary rather than when it is moving steadily down the road.

3a) I agree that gas is far to cheap in North America but I think that 4-5$ / gallon is much too cheap to drive the changes that are needed. I'd rather see it taxed enough to raise the price to around $10 / gallon and the money raised used to smooth the changeover to a saner lifestyle and to reduce other taxes.

3b) The Prius a/c is efficient enough that I wouldn't hesitate to keep it running while waiting for someone in the kind of summer heat that is common in most of North America. As for overnight; when the sun is down the energy required to keep the car comfortable drops dramatically and if I had to run the a/c all night to stay comfortable, I wouldn't hesitate to do so even if gasoline was $10/gallon.

3c) If people want to save energy in hot weather, a better plan might be to turn the house a/c off, park the Prius in the shade with the a/c on and sit there until the temperature drops.

PS I'm not sure how the Prius would use less energy driving rather than sitting in one place with the a/c on.

 

I would never give politicians the chance to have a such a windfall from raising taxes with a "promise" to lower some other taxes. The lowering part just won't happen. They'll still cry that we need to spend more money to "Save the <put your pet project here> cause"or a "War on ...".

The most efficient government is a government starved for tax dollars.

 

I think it's actually illegal to do protracted idling with a vehicle here, not that anyone abides by it, and it's not enforced. Cops are the worst offenders, cabbies in Prius a close second.

Personally: car stopped? Shut it down.

 

I believe there are a few Prius owners that have outfitted their Prius as an emergency generator for occasions when the power at home goes out.

 

Oh don't let it bother you too much. Our cars already save tons by not idling in stop and go traffic and red lights. Your occasional 30 minutes in the parking is nothing compared to how much it daily saves. It is also nothing compared to the diesel burned in autobahn speeds pushing insane amounts of air.

 

How well is that working for you?

 

Too many Democrats reaching into my pocket to payoff their debts.