Does Using Car Heater Consume Fuel?
3 Answers
Using the car heater basically does not consume fuel. How car air conditioning works: Car air conditioning cools by compressing refrigerant into a liquid, then allowing it to evaporate and absorb heat from the air. The compressor pulley drives the compressor, increasing engine load and consuming some fuel. How car heating works: The heater utilizes the engine's cooling system. A small fan directs heat from the engine into the cabin. The blower fan then circulates this heat from the small radiator into the interior, with relatively minimal load. While there is a slight difference in fuel consumption compared to not using the heater, it's generally negligible.
When I used to drive an older gasoline-powered car, I specifically tested the fuel consumption issue with the heater. Actually, turning on the heater itself hardly increases fuel consumption because the car's heater operates using waste heat from the engine coolant, essentially recycling waste. However, there are some details to note: if you rush to turn on the heater when the engine is cold, the engine temperature won't rise efficiently, which can actually lead to higher fuel consumption. I usually wait until the temperature gauge reaches 1/4 before turning on the heater. The situation is different with new energy vehicles. In pure electric cars, the heater consumes battery power, and the consumption is significant, noticeably reducing the driving range. Hybrid models have both modes, depending mainly on the power source. In summer, the air conditioning compressor is the real fuel guzzler—the heater is a completely different concept.
Last week, a friend who just bought a new electric car asked me this question. Actually, it depends on the vehicle type. Traditional gasoline cars don't consume much fuel when using the heater, as the heat comes from the engine cooling system. However, when you turn on the front windshield defogger, some models automatically activate the air conditioning compressor for dehumidification, which consumes extra fuel. For plug-in hybrid vehicles, the engine participates in heating, potentially increasing fuel consumption by about 0.2L per 100 kilometers. Pure electric vehicle owners need to be even more cautious, as using the heater consumes at least 1-3 kWh per hour, often reducing winter range by 20%. It's recommended for northern owners to use seat heating functions, which are much more energy-efficient than using the heater.
