Dear Lazywebz... (Automotive Edition)
Dec. 8th, 2010 10:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisLast night, as I was driving home from a night shift at the data center, I was thanking $deity every, oh, 10 seconds or so that the passenger cabin of my Civic was warm & toasty despite a nasty windchill factor in our region. Most conventional gasoline & diesel engine vehicles use heat from the engine's operating combustion to warm the passengers and defrost the windshield.
How do the Prius, Leaf & Volt warm their human passengers?
I suppose those with an internal combustion engine could run the engine to generate heat but that would have a huge impact on gas mileage. They could use their battery power to run electrical heating elements; I have no idea how much of an impact that drain would have on their range.
Can anyone with first-hand knowledge enlighten me?
How do the Prius, Leaf & Volt warm their human passengers?
I suppose those with an internal combustion engine could run the engine to generate heat but that would have a huge impact on gas mileage. They could use their battery power to run electrical heating elements; I have no idea how much of an impact that drain would have on their range.
Can anyone with first-hand knowledge enlighten me?
