A new study from Finland, conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and Tampere University, measured particulate emissions from passenger car preheating with an auxiliary heater in sub-zero conditions.
A new study from Finland, conducted by the University of Eastern Finland and Tampere University, measured particulate emissions from passenger car preheating with an auxiliary heater in sub-zero conditions.
The preheating emissions were compared to calculated emissions from driving to determine the driving distance corresponding to the preheating emissions under current emissions standards.
Publishing their findings in Atmospheric Environment: X, the researchers measured auxiliary heater (AH) particulate emissions from the preheating of three gasoline and three diesel cars for a half an hour period. Preheating was carried out outdoors in sub-zero conditions, i.e., when preheating is recommended by the AH manufacturer.
In terms of particulate emissions, using an auxiliary heater for half an hour was equivalent to a 97-kilometer drive in a gasoline car, or to a 20-kilometer drive in a diesel car, under current emissions standards.
“When driving short distances, vehicle preheating can produce significantly higher particulate emissions than the actual drive, especially when considering that the during-drive emissions of most cars are much lower than the limits set in the emissions standards,” says Doctoral Researcher Henri Oikarinen of the University of Eastern Finland.
