I leave my HyCam in eco all the time. I think it makes the A/C feel colder because it limits the fan speed. I prefer the gas pedal feel in eco, and I just turn the temperature to what makes me comfortable. YMMV
But you could just leave it in "ECO" to have that "precise pedal feel" whenever you want it, and still be equally able to "get it moving QUICK," merely by flexing your ankle a little farther. That way, you'd have (almost) all the advantages of both, without having to be bothered constantly pushing buttons, not to mention taking your eyes off the road to find them. (The HVAC system alone is a bad enough offender in that respect.) Besides, it's better for our muscles to operate through their whole range of motion instead of being restricted to such a narrow range.
Bingo...I feel that 'ECO' mode suits the car well. I have fun trying to 'keep the engine off' as much as possible when driving around my neighborhood, etc.. ECO mode makes this much easier ( for me ). However, I can always 'stomp' on the pedal when I need power. The only problem I run into is when driving our other non-hybrid cars. I tend to press on the accelerator way too much at first until I get used to them again!
Those aren't free energy, they're just reclaiming part (maybe 50%) of energy you've already paid for, and would otherwise totally waste in friction braking.
It's like buying a new car for 20k and getting a 1k rebate, your ahead of the persons who bought before the rebate.
I've driven my first tank on ECO mode, now I'm halfway through my second tank. I see minimal drop in mileage, probably due to the outside temp being a bit lower. I personally do not like how the pedal feels in ECO mode, it's harder for me to accelerate and glide in ECO mode since I under/overcompensate all the time. In normal mode I get up to speed, let go and keep it 50-55KM/h (speed limit is 50 in cities). Both modes are nice to have, the car can compete against 3L diesel cars from standstill in power mode, but I doubt I'll ever use them again.
This is why "pulse and glide" does better than normal driving for higher MPGs. Burn less fuel with hard accelerations then "coast" until the next need to surge. Slower acceleration technically burns less fuel, but it burns longer (which often results in more fuel spent in total), and regenerative braking from taking your foot completely off the gas robs you of forward momentum. STILL, in the right places, the regenerative braking does give you "free" power, but you generally need enough of a downhill grade that gravity maintains your speed and/or makes you go faster.
Only, it isn't. This part of the discussion has gone off track, but it was originally about where the power for the AC compressor comes from, and the answer to that is: unless you have a PiP, it comes from the gasoline you put in the tank. Period.
It's more like the spare tire in your car. It came with the car but it wasn't free. You paid for it by buying the car. You paid for the regeneration with gasoline. If you use it for the AC or by forcing EV mode, you're using energy that could help lower your fuel economy. The next time you speed up the car may ask for additional EV but if the battery is empty, it will just do it on ICE alone. If it was a 1 to 1 energy transfer, it wouldn't matter. But regeneration is lossy and you lose more than half in the conversion. Thus more AC use will decrease fuel despite being electric. Regeneration just means you lose less than cars that don't have regeneration.
I think it's pretty clear he meant "free" as "energy you would lose otherwise". That's a kind of 'free'.
If you purchase 4 items and prior to concluding your trip you are refunded the price of 1 of the 4 items isn't it basically free? Yes, you spent the cost of it up front but you were given that back at the end. Not truly the same but a similar principle. There are no free lunches or gasoline gallons but there is an overall reduction in cost due to regeneration.
Agreed. It doesn't matter. Is it "buy one get one free" or "half off"? Both mean the same thing. The distinction does matter when you eat 3 and a half slices of pizza and throw the other half away. You have no regard for it because you bought 4 and was refunded for the 1 so it is free. Using an electric AC and saying it is powered for free from regeneration is doing just that. Using AC is not free and will lower your fuel economy. I'm not saying don't use AC. I'm saying there is a cost to it whether it is powered directly from the engine or electrically powered. Oh yeah, I forgot to stay on topic. I use ECO mode 24/7, to save on AC use. If I need to go fast I stomp on the gas. I noticed there is no difference between PWR and ECO when the pedal is floored.
AC is a couple of MPG hit, but (as many have said here) it is also the cooling mechanism for the traction battery, so use it for the overall environmental and financial benefit of a long lasting battery. As for AC use in Eco mode - consider the length of your trip. If you are on a long trip (say 20 minutes or longer) where there is enough time to cool the cabin to the set point (say 74 degrees F) the benefit of cooling under Eco is minimal. It is like brisk acceleration - regular AC will get to the "cruising mode" of the AC (lower compressor use, lower fan speed) more quickly. Most of my driving is 20 minutes or more, and I have been driving in "normal" mode all summer with great mileage.
For what it's worth, the amount of power you recapture from regenerative braking really doesn't give you that much "free" anything. You have a max of how many miles on a level surface if you are on EV mode only? As compared to how many miles you drive when you're using some amount of gasoline? It's in the "pulse and glide" technique that you maximize how far the Prius rolls without expending any energy.
