Using the AC / Heat while parked for extended periods

Yeah, the 1st time I drove mine the dash felt futuristic and starship-ish so I named it that.

Not your fault somebody sold you to a lie. I also got fooled and drove a diesel 3 cars ago. But like me if you bought it to save fuel then I'm sure you did not waste excessive fuel needlessly pushing air at hyper speed. I originally bought mine with the intension to run it in used veggie oil. It broke down before I got around to it... crappy german quality lol.

I know it isn't as efficient as the 2016, but my 2010 with solar roof allows me to stay in the car in direct sunlight up to 90+F. Due to age, I usually retire to my car during lunch hour in my open parking at work. My daily routine when I arrive to work is to crack all my windows half an inch, put reflective shade in both my front and rear windows, and tilt my sunroof a bit (if it isn't raining) to let the hot air on my ceiling vent off.

10 minutes after, the solar will start powering my fans. The difference of the fan moving air inside is all that allows to sit there an hour during lunch. Oh... i have a special arrangement at work not to take 15 minute morning and afternoon break and put it all to a 1 hour lunch for medical reasons.

 

That's what I love about our other car... the Matrix has 110 volt plug right on the dash! I've used it in a power outage.

 

You could camp in a Prius without running the engine and AC. Run the windows down slightly, jury rig some screen if you like.

 

The plug between the seats in the Gen4... is what volt? I haven't used it yet for anything. Looks like the old fashion "cigarette lighter plug."

 

Yeah. The center vent console area looks like Darth Vader.

LG-H901 ?

 

Excellent question as to how the car electronics will fare running AC in idle for hours! Saw a video recently with a Prius that had over 750,000 miles on it, and it had only recently had the engine replaced. BUT in regard to your question one could possibly assume that all the electronics etc had stood the test of time and use well or at least at an affordable level. Who knows?? Naturally, as a young mechanic 50 years ago it was drummed in to me how inefficient and damaging idling is on the engine. With a Prius the rules are an order of magnitude different and must be considered. Some Prius campers have stated they use as much as a quart to keep AC or heater going an entire night, but that would be unusual in the hottest of weather for most. After sun goes down just 10 minutes of operation will get you cool enough to last for quite a while, and when ambient temps drop quickly after dark after a brief run at lights out you won't want the car popping on to idle every 10 minutes will you? Therefore cooling overnight camping would almost never require the AC for more than a very few minutes...insignificant, really, and for the most fervent energy conserver like myself and one who detests misusing a fine machine and investment the idea is acceptable..even though not perfect maybe.

There are a number of factors to consider in making the decision to run AC for hours routinely while camping in Prius or seek alternative. I tried it camping a few days in hot weather in the Prius, and the AC use was mostly during a few hour nap time period in afternoon, and my guessometer dropped from 50 mpg to 25 mpg for those days. I was camped in campground with 100 vehicles that drove hundreds of miles to get there in huge rigs operating at 8 to 10 mpg. How does that compare? Sure i could buy a Tesla and use camp mode for this once in a blue moon adventure or just be hot, but there are at least 50,000 kwh of embodied energy in a Tesla, and the kwh it takes from the battery also add up so in the end if a gallon of gas is 33 kwh, and I use maybe 2-5 kwh in a day in the Prius that is same or less as my net zero home running the AC a full day, and a far sight better than the gas guzzlers that share the campground which are often hooked to 30-50 amp boxes to run the AC. Wish I could run the AC all night off an auxilliary battery charged with solar and forget it! Nobody really likes the on/off cycling if trying to sleep. I wouldn't leave my car on when going in store or office etc, of course, as I see is common practice these days at Walmart etc, but really the old Prius is one of the most efficient camp vehicles and highly prized still for the climate control efficiency. Have been wondering if using the engine coolant routed through a small tank under my sleeping platform in the Prius wouldn't give a nice large hot water bottle to keep warm on a cold night and efficiently capture a lot of heat that will last hours rather than cycle engine for long periods?