That statement is not correct. The inertia could be from running in EV mode, up to 35 mph. The vehicle has batteries, so there is another "energy input" than the ICE. The FEH will move without the ICE.

 

However battery got its charge to drive the EV mode from the ICE at some point. Even when the battery is recharged via braking regeneration... the energy from that inertia was "created" by the acceleration of the vehicle in the first place by the ICE (at some point). The point being made is that ALL the energy from the vehicle comes from the ICE at one point or another. The battery doesn't manufacture any energy its only a storage element. There is only one source of energy in the vehicle... gasoline... its just routed around differently and more efficiently than a normal car but there are still losses with each conversion. The A/C is MOST efficiently powered directly from the ICE because any conversion from it to electrical energy and back will have losses.

Now that doesn't mean that sitting there idling is an efficient way to run the A/C...

The truth is... if you never use the max A/C setting. Ford's method is the most efficient as far as energy is concerned. If you do use the max A/C setting, then it depends on how often the engine runs just to power the A/C and the losses when the engine is idling vs. the losses involved in converting movement to electricity and back to movement again in the electrical A/C motor if it had one (and remember those losses are occuring ALL THE TIME the A/C is running even when the car IS moving).

 

Do you plug in or something? Where are your batteries getting their charge?

 

I guess that is getting to my thoughts.

When the ICE is running just to turn the A/C compressor, that just has to be wasteful. For it not to be, then 100% of the energy from the ICE has to go into the A/C. I am sure that this can't ever be true.

Of the total amount of energy being created by the ICE, even when idling, only a small fraction is used by the A/C . Everything else, is simply wasted, probably going to create unneeded heat in the radiator.

Wasting energy just can't be efficient.

 

OK. I see what you mean. Energy INPUT. I guess I didn't catch the input part. I guess the battery would be more of an energy output.

And RandyKato, my batteries get their charging from regen braking, which may or may not be started from the ICE, depending on what speed I'm going, I guess. I am assuming that the reason the ICE comes on when you first start it is to get to operating temp and closed loop, not to charge the battery. I'm not sure though.

 

Maybe when your vehicle is first built Ford had to put a charge in the battery just to get the vehicle running...and that is a maybe. Kind of like how you buy a cell phone and the battery is only slightly charged. Unless your vehicle was built on top of a hill and you then allowed it to coast down to charge that battery...after that initial charge (which may not exist) ALL of the energy comes from the ICE. ALL OF IT. Regeneration is simply a method of capturing the kinetic energy of a moving vehicle. That vehicle was put in motion by the ICE. Even if you got up to speed via EV mode, the energy stored in the battery that you just used came from an ICE charge previously. There is no free energy here. It all comes from gasoline.

 

Its defininitely not very efficient. However.... if it only happens a few days a year (when its 105F )... for a few minutes at intersections (and even then its under manual control and you can turn it off if the car is cool enough)...... the losses you get with an electric airconditioner--which will occur all the time the A/C is running even when you are going down the road with the engine on just MIGHT dominate. You might be suprised. Thats all I'm saying.... Theres two possibilites, the Ford engineers acutally tested it and found that most people are better off with it powered from the ICE (As I am cause I don't use max A/C at all), or they decided that the belt and clutch was cheaper than an electrical motor for the A/C (I hesitiate to guarantee its the first one )

 

When the engine starts if the battery is low... it does charge the battery. Otherwise you are right Josh, the engine is just warming up the catalytic converter for emissions.

However as Tim K says.... all the energy comes from the engine at some point. Even the regeneration. The car USED energy to get moving... regen just recaptures the energy that WOULD have been wasted as heat when you applied the brakes in a normal car. But that energy came from gasoline one way or another unless the vehicle is always driving downhill

 

Josh,

I think you're misunderstanding. The energy you're talking about is redistributed energy, which at certain times can be transferred around (in/out of batteries, converted to vehicle motion, etc.) purely in EV mode.

However, we're talking about the ultimate source of that energy (all of it)... where it originates. That is the ICE running on gasoline.

 

I understand, I just like a good debate. Teester said mechanical to electrical back to mechanical was not as efficient as just powering it with just ICE. That's going against everything a hybrid is. If that was the case, hybrids wouldn't exsist.