1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Heating

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Dan2016touring, Dec 1, 2022.

  1. Dan2016touring

    Dan2016touring New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2022
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall Ny
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    Just bought a 2016 touring Prius 3 . All my life driving gas cars I would start the car, crank the heat to the highest level and blast it until I was warm. Then I would dial it down to a more normal range. With this new (to me) car I can’t seem to do that and a lot of my driving is sitting in the car with my son waiting for the bus. When I blast the heat the car complains about efficiency. Should I ignore the car’s feelings and blast it away? It’s getting colder in New York State
     
    #1 Dan2016touring, Dec 1, 2022
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Well, what is the purpose of the Prius? Heating will definitely use more fuel because in any car with an engine, the majority of the heat comes from the waste heat that is produced by the engine. The more inefficient or fuel sucking an engine (e.g. a V8), the more readily heat is available in the winter.

    In the Prius, the engine is one of the most thermally efficient gas car (40% which means 40% of the gas from your tank is used to power the car, and 60% is wasted as heat and other byproducts. Yes, that is the most efficient. Other cars are in the 20-30% range).

    The Prius has a PTC heater to back up the engine for heat.

    If you need the heat, go for it, just be prepared to pay for it in fuel (nothing's free!). If you have heated seats, it's more efficient to use the heated seats to warm you than to heat the entire cabin.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Dec 1, 2022
    Doug McC and fuzzy1 like this.
  3. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 26, 2009
    17,557
    10,324
    90
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    This caused reduced efficiency in the older cars too, but they just didn't have a way to display a complaint to you. And having lower MPG in the first place, their relative MPG loss was less noticeable. If you even looked for it at all. Though as previously mentioned, they also had much more waste heat to throw your way.

    If you need the heat, then you need it, so use it. The same applies to AC in summer. But maybe you can be a bit more frugal with heat than you used to be, not asking for any more than is really necessary.
     
    #3 fuzzy1, Dec 2, 2022
    vvillovv likes this.
  4. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2013
    3,901
    1,338
    1
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Winter in the northern climates and cars with batteries in them are a challenge to put it mildly.
    Batteries thernal comfort zone is very similar to most peoples thermal comfort zone.
    ie: Try to imaging wake up with your body exposed to freezing temps and than asked to get to work right away without having a chance shake off the icicles that formed while sleeping.
    And the battery warms from cabin heat much slower than people in the cabin having relatively warmer air blowing directly on them.
    Winter sucks
    for MPG no matter how you look at the issue. And understanding a hybrid is a whole new game when your previous car didn't have a battery pack in it.
    Welcome to priuschat.
     
    #4 vvillovv, Dec 2, 2022
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,674
    39,222
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    Where you park overnight do you have secure access to 120 volt AC outlet? If so:

    Consider getting the block heater. Toyota makes one specifically for the car. The part’s about $80 USD and install will run $200 at least.

    Best to plug in for at least 2 hours. If your starts are real early a timer would help.

    You can DIY the install; it can be a bear though. There’s some third gen install tips in my signature, might have some relevance.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Dec 2, 2022
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2022
    Tideland Prius likes this.
  6. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2008
    1,310
    893
    0
    Location:
    Monument, CO
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    The Prius HVAC in Auto will not start the blower until the engine coolant is warm enough to provide some heat. It won't blast cold air into the cabin. I've never tried manually putting the blower fan on before the coolant is warm, but why would you want to? Yes, when you run the heat in cold weather, the average MPG will drop significantly. We lose about 10 MPG when running the heat here in Colorado.
     
    #6 FuelMiser, Dec 3, 2022
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)