As most of my readers know, I live in Ottawa. On January 19th, 2019 we were the coldest capital in the world ( yes, you read correctly) since then, we’ve had temperatures reaching -40 with the wind chill.
For those who don’t live in cold climates, think about being in a deep freezer in a tee-shirt and shorts for hours and multiply it a few times. We were getting continual warnings of the possibility of frostbite. It’s been hard. A few days ago, there was a discussion on how long people should heat their cars for.
The answers were between 15 seconds (an environmentalist) and 30 minutes. So what is the answer? It’s not clear. Here are three things to help you.
- Â Your ability to withstand the cold
– Do you mind driving with gloves?
– Do you hate driving in warm cars? - Your car’s manual
Yes, that lovely book will let you know how long you should warm your car. - The professionalsÂ
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, letting your vehicle sit for more than 30 seconds while turned on results in unnecessary air pollution, wasted fuel, and can even cause damage to engine components.
So why do people continue warming up the cars?
During the 80s and early 90s, cars were made with carburetors. Warming up the cars would allow the carburetors the change to get the perfect combination of air and fuel in the engine. Â These days, the majority of cars are made with electronic fuel injection, this process uses sensors to apply fuel to the engine to get the perfect mix of air and fuel eliminating the need to warm up the engine.
Of course, for those who like driving in warm cars will do so, but now you know that your engine doesn’t need it.
RT family, how long do you warm your car for in the winter?