Engine Block Heater Data Collection Experiment

I've ordered a 400W engine block heater (EBH, PU140-00900) for my 2010 Toyota Prius III. When I get it installed , I will collect raw data about its usage and performance. I have an 120VAC killowatt meter that I can monitor its power drain from. I have a ScangaugeII that I can collect data from the car from. After collecting the data on the EBH I will make the data collected and preliminary observations/conclusion to this forum and to the public at large .

I am now in the process of designing what kind of data I will collect and I am asking what kind of data would you find most useful wrt to the EBH?

 

With respect to pollution - my electricity is from
Cleancurrents which is a local electrical supplier
which aggregates wind turbine electricity (so I'm
not using electricity generated by fossil fuels or
by a nuclear powerplant)

In terms of Return on Investment (ROI) my initial
computations wrt to todays current energy prices
is that the ROI for me is neligible because I only
have about really 3 super cold months ( Dec, Jan,
Feb). If weather patterns change or if energy
prices change the ROI changes too. I'm spending
the $$ and doing this so it can be included in my
2 year hypermiling experiment/technical challenge
- whose primary objective is to optimize the fuel
efficiency of the 2010 Prius by exploring a variety
of techniques/modification. Collecting useful data
points is a side benefit...

Here is the data collection format I am thinking of using.
Each record has 19 data fields.

ebh data record format
===================
00. Record number - Primary Key
01. date (MM/DD/YYYY)
---------------------------
starting EBH warmup cycle
----------------------------
02. outside temperature(F)
03. time(00:00)
-------------------------
ending EBH warmup cycle
-------------------------
04. outside temperature(F)
05. time(00:00)
06. wattHours(wH)
07. engine block temperature achieved(F)
------------------------
Trip data
------------------------
08. starting Odeometer(miles)
09. starting outside temperature(f)
10. starting engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
11. Ending Odeometer(miles)
12. Ending outside temperature(f)
13. Ending engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
14. Precipation(Rain/Snow/Sleet/none)
15. ScangaugeII(AVG, mpg )
16. MFD(Trip B reset, mpg)
-------------
cost factors
-------------
17. cost per KwH ( current charge, distr&tax charge )
18. cost per gallon of gas



The engine block heater will be used to raise the temperature of the gasoline engine before its even started - but depending on how long the heater is ON, the outside temperature, the initial engine temperature might difffer. So the question would be given an initial outside temperature. How much time and how much electricity would it take a 400W engine block heater to warm up the Prius? Without an engine block heater, it takes the Prius about 3 to 7 minutes to warm up the engine to the point that the engine will shut down (FWT > 100 F, 1st warmup phase). The 3rd Gen Prius steady state/max temperature for the engine coolant is 180F, and wrt to my commute it make take up to 50 minutes before I reach that temperature in the winter. My scangaugeII can monitor the coolant temperature but it does not do a minute by minute data logging of the MPG, coolant temperature, and GPH. I would need a OBDII scanner/data logger...

The EBH experiment can only be done for my 16 mile commute *to work* in the mornings. So the route used will be fixed.

hope this helps

Walter Lee
(mileage log at Cleanmpg.com under "HyperDrive 1")
2010 Toyota Prius III, Blue Ribbon/Dark Grey, OEM floormats
Yokohama Avid s33 (front 50 psi rear 48 psi)
lower grill 100% blocked , upper grill 0% blocked (temporary)
ScangaugeII (FwT, SoC, RPM, GPH)
Odeometer 17350 miles/ 60.9 mpg overall

 

Yes. The car will be parked just outside my house while the EBH is on. Will logging the wind speed from the weather report be good enough? We are not allowed to set up any permanent weather station sensors outside in my community - so setting up a temporary weather station will be problematic....

 

The value of an EBH is probably more apparent in colder climates but winters in Maryland-DC area should get cold enough where I should be able to collect enough data points along a wide range of temperatures to show how effective an EBH is. My initial estimates is that the EBH ROI will be marginally effective in Maryland but I wont know for sure until I get more data.

Last winter my mileage dropped from a 2010 summer time high of 66.1 mpg to 53 mpg. Sofar this winter my mileage has has dropped from a 2011 summertime high of 70.9 mpg to 65 mpg and is still dropping. However, compared to last winter at this same time my fuel efficiency is 7 mpg higher( 65 mpg vs 58 mpg, you can see my mileage log on Cleanmpg.com under "HyperDrive 1"). I believe this is because I've implemented a more aggressive grill blocking strategy, I am using higher tire pressures, and my hypermiling skills have improved. This summer when the Prius engine was pre-warmed up my 16 mile *going to work-downhill* commute trip FE peaked between 80mpg to 83 mpg (4x this year) which is about 10 mpg higher than without the pre-warmup ( 66mpg to 76 mpg). So there is a definite advantage but it should be more telling in the winter than in the summer time. Pre-warming up the Prius ICE is one the the tactics Hypermiler Wayne Gerdes uses to achieve high MPG in his FE Marathon.

 

If I had a portable anemometer[1] and took a reading of the windspeed and direction from the parking lot before I started the EBH and then after I disconnected the EBH - is there a predictive thermal loss/efficiency equation/model that I could compare my data to OR would a custom model/equation have to be created OR at this point just having raw experimental data suffice?

[1] example of a portable anemometer.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NG9QCG/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0000AY6UV&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=10WE9WQ9W9E5TNS9DMT5

 

Yes - That sounds reasonable. There probably is a "wind chill factor" involved. I will get a portable anemometer and record the wind speed, too. Thanks. .

 

Would providing a control group of experimental data points
help eliminate any bias wrt to other FE influencing factors?

For example,

1) every *even* work day the EBH is used (experimental)
and every *odd* work day do not use the EBH (control).

2) every *even* week the EBH is used (experimental)
and every *odd* week the EBH is not used (control).

I am hoping to collect atleast 60 data points (+12 weeks of cold weather). I need atleast 30 data points to create something statistically reliable ( so I can use a Normal Distribution curve with a reasonable confidence level).

 

Clean Current is a national aggregator of wind turbine
energy[1]. It purchases energy from the national grid that
is created by & credited to Wind farms located in
Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Texas[2]. However, electricity
on the national grid is intermingled with electricity created
by Wind, Solar, Hydro, Gas, Oil, and Nuclear power.

There are several motivations for using an EBH

1) to increase FE/MPG.
2) to lower the total energy footprint usage
3) to lower energy cost
4) to lower (carbon) emissions.

The 2012 PJM Interconnection Power Grid (Mid Atlantic Power Grid Mix) for Maryland is...
Coal = 48.1%
Gas = 13.3%
Nuclear = 34.6%
Oil = 00.5%
Methane= 00.3%
Waste = 00.5%
Hydro = 01.0%
Wind = 01.5% <== that me!
Biomass = 00.2%


[1]
Wind Power FAQs - Clean Currents - A leading wind and solar power supplier and installer for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC

[2]
Wind Farms - Clean Currents - A leading wind and solar power supplier and installer for Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC

 

I've got the EBH and the anemometer ...

Here's my EBH data record file format

ENGINE BLOCK HEATER EXPERIMENTAL DATA RECORD
Each record has 24 data fields.
==========================
ebh - data record formats
==========================
==================================
experimental (Record Type=1)
==================================
00. Record number - Primary Key
01. Record type (1= experimental/0=control)
02. date (MM/DD/YYYY)
---------------------------
starting EBH warmup cycle
----------------------------
03. outside temperature(F)
04. time(00:00)
05. wind (speed, direction)
-------------------------
ending EBH warmup cycle
-------------------------
06. outside temperature(F)
07. time(00:00)
08. wind (speed, direction)
09. wattHours(wH)
10. engine block temperature achieved(F)
------------------------
Trip data
------------------------
11. starting Odeometer(miles)
12. starting wind (speed,direction)
13. starting outside temperature(f)
14. starting engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
15. starting time(ooo)
16. Ending Odeometer(miles)
17. Ending outside temperature(f)
18. Ending engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
19. Ending time(00:00)
20. Precipation(Rain/Snow/Sleet/none)
21. ScangaugeII(AVG, mpg )
22. MFD(Trip B reset, mpg)
-------------------
cost factors
-------------------
23. cost per KwH ( current charge, distr&tax charge )
24. cost per gallon of gas

========================
control (Record type =0)
========================
00. Record number - Primary Key
01. date (MM/DD/YYYY)
11. starting Odeometer(miles)
12. starting wind (speed,direction)
13. starting outside temperature(f)
14. starting engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
15. starting time(ooo)
16. Ending Odeometer(miles)
17. Ending outside temperature(f)
18. Ending engine block temperature(ScangaugeII(FwT)
19. Ending time(00:00)
20. Precipation(Rain/Snow/Sleet/none)
21. ScangaugeII(AVG, mpg )
22. MFD(Trip B reset, mpg)
-------------------
cost factors
-------------------
23. cost per KwH ( current charge, distr&tax charge )
24. cost per gallon of gas