A good way to save energy in your home is frank and simple: put on a sweater. That way you do not have to turn the heat up to stay warm. So, why not apply this practice elsewhere? For example, in your car! My advice is this: if it's cold out, put gloves on! My hands tend to get the coldest when I drive because they're exposed directly to air and have to hold the freezing steering wheel! When I wear gloves I am exponentially warmer and less inclined to blast the heat. If I don't have to blast the heat then I save gas! So, save gas, wear gloves!
Using the heater in a car just diverts heat from the engine to you. The car has to cool the engine regardless so taking heat from the engine has an insignificant effect on the fuel consumption.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. Since the air conditioner reduces fuel efficiency I assumed that the same would be true of the heater, but it is not. Even having the fans running or the seat heaters on does not affect fuel consumption because they draw energy from the battery. Thank you for the correction, except that now I am down one post. Shucks!
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