Minimal Climate Control Tips

jwhamlin244

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To maximize efficiency in the winter, especially here where it is relatively mild, I tend to turn climate controls off and just put the seat/steering wheel heaters on. I thought I had read that was a recommended method a while back.
However, 5 minutes into the drive the windows fog up so I press the defrost button which BLASTS hot air at the windshield, and when you turn it off it leaves the climate controls on. This is quite a pain.

Clearly my approach isn't a good one.

Does anyone else try to minimize climate control use in the winter? What climate control configs do ya'll use?
Obviously hot breath + cold car = fog, there is no way to get around the physics, but is there a low defrost setting that just blows lukewarm air in front of the window to prevent fog? Especially for short trips I see no value in setting my car even to a low value of 60 deg on a 40 deg day when i'm just going to get out of my car by the time it reaches temp.
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Maquis

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I always leave climate control on and fan on either auto 1 or 2. If I don't want heat or AC, I turn them off. I've rarely had a fogging issue doing it this way.

If E-Heat and A/C are off, you won't notice an increase in efficiency by switching off the whole climate system.
 

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Leave it on AUTO 1 , set temp as low as you can tolerate. Done. You need some air movement as you found out, I would never turn it off completely unless I was under extreme range pressure.
 

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I always leave climate control on and fan on either auto 1 or 2. If I don't want heat or AC, I turn them off. I've rarely had a fogging issue doing it this way.

If E-Heat and A/C are off, you won't notice an increase in efficiency by switching off the whole climate system.
I agree and will add turn the temp down. I run mine at 68 in winter. Big plus if you can is to pre condition prior to driving. On the main screen I think you can select 1 of 3 heat settings. After 2 yrs of ownership I just leave it on auto and have found on avg it uses 5% to 10%.
 

JohnFoxeSheets

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I always leave climate control on and fan on either auto 1 or 2. If I don't want heat or AC, I turn them off. I've rarely had a fogging issue doing it this way.

If E-Heat and A/C are off, you won't notice an increase in efficiency by switching off the whole climate system.
I do the same here in foggy San Francisco and it works just fine. Additionally, replacing the OEM cabin filter a PureFlow one obviates the need to use Recirc in almost all situations, which further helps to lessen the chances of window fogging.
 
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RickMachE

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jay1122

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Buys 50-70K car and not use the heat just to save a few dollars? I don't get that logic. I remote start my car during winter time every day. Heated cabin, steering wheel, and seats. Wonderful feature. Who cares about efficiency, just charge some more.
 
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jwhamlin244

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Buys 50-70K car and not use the heat just to save a few dollars? I don't get that logic. I remote start my car during winter time every day. Heated cabin, steering wheel, and seats. Wonderful feature. Who cares about efficiency, just charge some more.
I appreciate your judgement, however I didn't really mention cost.
1. There is more than monetary cost. Sometimes it is simply wasteful to blast the heat when you know the cabin isn't even going to reach temp by the time you reach your destination. I also turn off my lights when i leave a room even though they are led.
2. I don't have set departure times so I do not precondition. Therefore I believe it is causing unnecessary stress on the batteries to draw the extra 10-15% energy to cool the cabin when they are cold. I could be wrong, but psychologically I believe that my battery will thank me in the long run. Since battery recycling is not yet mainstream, I'd like to do what I can to get the most time possible out of these battery resources.
3. On long drives, every single electron is useful for distance. I believe Ford themselves has recommended minimizing the use of the climate controls when efficiency is needed.
 

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I do the same here in foggy San Francisco and it works just fine. Additionally, replacing the OEM cabin filter a PureFlow one obviates the need to use Recirc almost all situations, which further helps to lessen the chances of window fogging.
Thanks for recommending the pureflow filter. Canā€™t smell the outside anymore šŸ˜€. Took my Mom out for a trip to Sacremento and her face puffed up from allergies. Hopefully the new filter will fix šŸ™‚
 

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I have a similar situation. I donā€™t use the max defrost button, I open up the climate controls and press the defrost vent setting there and have the fan speed set to 1. Then can go into the fan speed button and hit off when my window is defogged. Usually it defogs before the climate window self closes so I can just hit the large power button on that screen to turn it back off without having to go into additional menus.

I also donā€™t personally care about cost but donā€™t use heat. I just try to maximize the mi/kWh number on my way to work as a challenge. And even when it is cold (30 or below) I donā€™t really need heat because Iā€™m comfortable until about 30-45 mins in my commute.
 

mkhuffman

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And even when it is cold (30 or below) I donā€™t really need heat because Iā€™m comfortable until about 30-45 mins in my commute.
This is very similar to what I do. It may be because I don't have the glass roof, but I find the car stays comfortable for a very long time after leaving a heated garage.

Yesterday I was in a unheated parking garage charging my car on a "free" charger, and doing a meeting on my phone. I had the car on accessory mode with all climate controls off, but the steering wheel and seat heaters turned on. It was 45 degrees outside but very comfortable inside my car.

After I reached the charge I needed to make it home, I drove probably 30 minutes without using any climate controls at all. When it started to get a little too cold for my taste, I turned the climate on Auto Low for a few minutes at 68 degrees, then turned it back off.

I was doing this because the car navigation said I would arrive at home with 0% charge, and I didn't want to stop for a quick DCFC. Because I drove like an old woman, and turned off climate controls for a lot of the drive, I was able raise the estimated charge at destination to around 8% during my drive. When I hit 8% I set the cruise for 80 and watched the estimated charge at destination start to drop.

On a side note, the Sync navigation estimate for a trip is really amazing. I have relied on it so many times and it has never let me down. Usually it is a little pessimistic, which helps ensure you don't run out of charge before you get where you need to go.

Anyway, I only had a fogging problem in the morning when I pulled out of the garage at home and my windshield was warmer than the outside air. I did the same thing: turning climate on and off, Auto Low, when the fogging got too bad. It would quickly go away and then I turned climate off. Again, I was hypermiling because I needed every electron to avoid stopping for a DCFC.

I arrived home at 7% charge. Perfect.
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