[Physics] the fastest way to heat the car

everyday-lifethermodynamics

During the winter months I often have to drive in a cold car and I want to warm up as fast as possible. What is the best setting to put the air on in order to warm up the entire cabin in the least amount of time?

To simplify, let's start with a few assumptions:

  1. Assume a typical small sedan (four door, four/five passenger).
  2. Assume the engine is already warm.
  3. Assume you have standard vent settings. "Defrost" is directed up from the dash. "Face" is forward and directed toward the driver's face. "Feet" is directed down.
  4. Assume each setting blows the same amount and same temperature of air into the cabin.
  5. You may also have a combination of "Feet" and "Defrost" or "Face" and "Feet". Assume this setting splits the air flow 50/50 between the two directions.

My guess is there is some kind of thermal effect caused by blowing the air that will make one setting better than the rest. If such an effect will occur, is there a critical temperature for it to appear? Does it matter if the external temperature is $0^{o} C$ or $-20^{o}C$?

As an additional clarification, I am not looking for just making the driver feel warmer (I'd assume that would be the "face" setting since it blows on the driver's face/torso so will make them feel warmer faster. Feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken). I am curious was to what will warm the entire cabin fastest.

Best Answer

Depends how far you are willing to modify your car. At a simple level, most cars have a "recirculate" switch that draws air from the cabin into the heat exchanger as opposed to heating fresh outside air.

If you want to open the hood, you could blanket the radiator, thus causing the engine coolant to remain rather hotter than planned, which will increase the heat dumped into the cabin air heat exchanger. Similarly, you could muck with the coolant pump's thermostats to force the engine to run hotter. Not recommended if you want your engine to live a long happy life.

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