I stumbled across this updated version of the technical review of the heating unit:
https://www.mhi.com/company/technology/ ... -2-57.htmlPerhaps this (below) copied from another thread will help with using the heater efficiently;Doing hiking trips to the mountains for two full winters (this is the third) has helped me find the best most efficient way to use the stock heat. It makes sense when you think about it and is different than we are conditioned to use the heat from years of ICE driving.
1. Preheat the car if you can.
2. Use the seat heater. I usually turn it off after ~10 minutes because it gets too hot
3. Direct the heat to the floor only, on recirculate (it will keep all of you warm, heat rises). One notch toward defrost if needed to prevent fogging.
4. Start driving with the fan on high (I like the setting just below high because it is a bit quieter)
5. Temperature setting should be where ever you need it to be. I generally start high and end up on the second or third position up from the green dot.
6. If and when the heat is adequate inside the car
turn the temperature down, not the fan!#6 is critical! The heated fluid goes from the heating element right into the cabin. The more heat that you take out of that fluid before it makes the long trip outside of the cabin (under the hood etc.) the less heat is wasted to the cold environment. Also the lower the setting on the temperature knob the lower the resulting temperature of the fluid loop. So if one reduces the temperature setting instead of the fan speed the water loop is not heated as hot and less energy is wasted in the plumbing loop. For instance with the temperature knob set to the first position above the green dot. The system will keep the fluid around 110 F. At the highest temperature setting on the knob the fluid will heat to around 190 F. The MAX button overrides the heat setting on the heat knob and heats the fluid to around 190F until it is turned off.
So back to my test run. I drove around town town for 1.5 hrs using the Canion heater power graph to average my power consumption for heating. The average for the trip was 638 watts/hr. That (generously) equates to about 3 to 4 miles of worth of lost driving power (per hour) for staying comfortable. I know from previous non preheat trips at around 33 F that approximately an extra 800 watts of power is required to warm the car up inside (just the front, heat directed to floor only using the “max” button until the the chill retreats). Which yields ~1500 watts for the first hour starting out cold (up to ten miles worth of range used for heat in the first hour).
The 2014’s have a styrofoam piece under the front carpeting. I don’t think the 2012’s have this and it would make a difference, I’m sure. But overall, if one optimizes usage of the heating built into the car and it isn’t to to cold (29F is reasonably cold though). It doesn't take away all that much mileage to stay comfortable if best practices are employed.
Aerowhatt