Quote:
Originally Posted by kenny
I have a 2006 Honda Civic Hybird.
When I turn the heater on does it just redirect already-existing heat from the warm engine, or is there actually a separate heater unit that uses energy?
I'm asking because I read about someone who saves gas by never using AC or heater.
Someone else said the AC makes sense but the heater uses no gas.
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The heaters in our cars tap the engine coolant loop, normally waste heat. However, our vehicles are so efficient that in cold weather, the cabin heat can reduce the coolant temperature too much and the ICE will come on to keep the engine at 'operating temperature.' This extra fuel burn can sometimes be avoided by minimizing use of cabin heat.
Over in Prius_Technical_Stuff, we'd talked about using engine exhaust heat for other purposes including cabin heat. The air-cooled VWs used this technique.
Bob Wilson