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Abstract
Any vehicle can have the benefit of lower operating costs and the ability to directly drive away in cold weather if the engine and cabin are preheated. Preheating the engine and the interior of the vehicle are energy management initiatives used in electric cars coming to the market place as part of the efficient management of energy. There is no reason that current vehicles can’t have the same benefit of an energy management initiative. All you need is a timer, heavy duty cord, an engine preheating device like a block heater (installed at the factory on many vehicles) and the addition of a cabin heater.
Electrical heating of an engine and cabin can be done in the morning at lower electrical rates. Electrical heating in general should be more efficient that using the wasted heat energy of a fossil fueled engine so even if some of the preheat time is captured in the higher morning electrical rates it should still be cost effective. Preheating the engine will work for both heated garage and outdoor vehicles. The only difference is that the outdoor vehicles require the addition of a cabin heating system to add the most of benefits of a garage to any outdoor vehicle except for drive train warming of the transmission and gearboxes. The key to preheating is to have a vehicle free of frost, snow and ice on the windows that is available to drive away safely once you enter the vehicle. This project aims to show that preheating a vehicle with electricity is more cost effective than allowing it to warm up and large amounts of non-renewable fossil fuel will be saved. Preheating the engine and cabin on current vehicles can obtain the initial benefits of a plug in using the same strategy and currently available technology. So with a few simple changes, your vehicle can become a plug in vehicle.
All vehicles can improve their efficiency through prewarming the engine and cabin before driving. Prewarming both the engine and the vehicle cabin will ensure a warm weather driveaway. There will be a faster return of the vehicle to optimum operating temperature. Waiting for enough warmth from the engine to defrost the windows or ease the time to clear the windows of snow and ice should be eliminated. Pluging in your existing vehicle will save you time and money!
Plugging in at 10 Celsius is the point where benefits start to occur. The most efficient heating point shows in the data to be approximately 16 Celsius. Heating above this point provides a warmer start but less overall energy efficiency. Preheat needs to be as close to the starting point of the vehicle as possible. Electrical heating of a vehicle is over 55-60% more efficient than warming a vehicle through idling. Efficiency can arise to as high as 70% for a larger engine vehicle. Electrical heating of a vehicle can save the vehicle owner money through less fuel cost, consistent commute times by eliminating warmup periods for clearing windows, provide safer vision with clear windows, and reduction in hours on the engine so the vehicle will last longer. Preheating showed that a vehicle can obtain consistent energy consumption per 100km within normal summer variation over the year with only a minor loss in cold weather likely due to drive train inefficiencies.
Electrical preheating strategy can be applied to any vehicle. Manufacturers could incorporate cabin heaters and engine heaters into all existing vehicles as a fairly low cost eco option. The plug in system would have a control loop that could be controlled by the vehicle computer. This control system designed to take advantage of low electrical demand to preheat the vehicle to allow optimum efficiency warm drive away starts. The addition of a battery charger completes ensuring the vehicle will have an optimum efficiency start. People just need to get used to plugging in and unplugging the vehicle as the future of all vehicles may be headed this way. Perhaps vehicle energy consumption ratings should be provided with the benefits of electrical preheating the vehicle.
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