Department of Energy says: 'A cool butt is a hot way to save gas'
The Department of Energy
says that having a hot booty isn't necessarily a good thing. In fact, it argues that ventilated seats (like those
of the Cadillac STS that pull away warm air and moisture), could save as many as 522 million
gallons of gas if all cars on the road were equipped with the technology. How so? The DOE reasons that if drivers'
rumps and backsides are kept comfortable, fewer people would find it necessary to turn on the air-conditioning... thus
saving money and the environment.
The catch? Vented seats generally only come on higher-end models, and are often high-cost options bundled in with other features.
[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Big 1:19PM (3/11/2006)
When was the last time you said to yourself, "my butt is cold."?
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Opposite Lock 1:33PM (3/11/2006)
When I was sitting on an ice rink last week.
Seriously.
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Robert 1:58PM (3/11/2006)
From a thermodynamic standpoint this makes perfect sense and I hope we see it implemented.
Also, this is a no-brainer for convertibles. I cringe when I see convertibles with the top up and AC on just because it's a little hot outside. That person has paid extra for a heavier, dynamically inferior vehicle so they can be a pansy with the AC on. With ventilated seats they can be a pansy incognito.
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Gardiner Westbound 1:58PM (3/11/2006)
I passed on this option. There are durability problems with perforated leather, it does not age gracefully and I imagine the perforations will quickly plug up.
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mark 2:30PM (3/11/2006)
And I wonder who backed this research, probably the company that makes the technology for "cool seats".. I mean you can bet that someone paid the DOE to say this! Come on people.. let's think a little!
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Rando 3:42PM (3/11/2006)
"A cool ass is a hot way to save gas."
:)
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Robert 4:45PM (3/11/2006)
Mark, Ive got to say Im a little annoyed with your incredulity. Just think about it for a second. If the objective is to cool a person what is the best way to do it. You can apply a cold surface to their overheated, sweaty tukus or you can cool all the air in the vehicle which comes into contact with a substantial area of glass, an efficient thermal conductor. The later is like turning your homes thermostat up to heat bath water. It will eventually work, but its by far the least efficient way.
It doesnt matter who funded the study. Very basic thermodynamics shows this can be a substantial energy saver. Of course its not in the same ballpark as an Excursion driver switching to an Insight, but think of the difference of cooling one seat of an Excursion as opposed to the entire interior. An AC compressor is a substantial parasitic drain of engine power. It makes sense to make the best use of what it does.
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Mal Fuller 8:54PM (3/11/2006)
" The DOE reasons that if drivers' rumps and backsides are kept comforable (sic), fewer people would find it necessary to turn on the air-conditioning... thus saving money and the environment."
Utter nonesense!
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Billy C. 9:09PM (3/11/2006)
This is ridiculous. We are not going to save fuel by chilling peoples butts. This is another waste of taxpayers money.
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Random Coil 2:00AM (3/12/2006)
Ok, well, if Billy C thinks this is a waste of money, then it must be true! I mean, he's a well-published researcher in the areas of automotive engineering, economics, and/or human physiology. These DOE guys haven't even bothered to publish their data to be reviewed by policy makers and researchers in their field. Oh, wait, they have.
Evaluation of Advanced Automotive Seats to Improve Thermal Comfort and Fuel Economy
Source: Lustbader, J. (2005) SAE paper no. 2005-01-2056, Warrendale, PA.
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Rene Curry 7:59AM (3/12/2006)
It would be simple to add an ECONOMY mode to all vehicle air conditioners. In this mode it would simply only engage the air conditioning compressor when the vehicle has forward motion over 10mph. It has been said that it is more economical to run the air conditioner at speed rather than open the windows due to aerodynamic drag.
The user could have this "economy" selection if they are interested in saving fuel while still being comfortable. If only stopped briefly at intersections, you would not even detect the difference. This would save the most fuel and be easy to configure.
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Fooman 3:59PM (3/12/2006)
the mythbusters went after this one. They used 2 Ford expiditions and drove on a track, one with ac and one with windows down. Turns out they washed. The AC vs windows at speed is a myth and not true, at least on v8 expiditions.
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/mythbusters.html
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MikeW 9:10AM (3/13/2006)
I thought the fans pushed the air toward the occupant.
What do they have to say about electrically cooled seats that use a thermoelectric junction?
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all_that 1:36PM (3/13/2006)
MikeW brings up a good point. There are ventilated seats and there are climate controlled seats. BMW, Mercedes and Lexus are big users of ventilated seat technology, which does nothing more than move air through the seat. Infiniti and Lincoln (and maybe others?) use climate controlled seats, which actually cool the air before moving it toward the occupant.
Either way, both types are currently only on luxury cars which most likely have auto climate control standard, which, in turn, likely means most owners leave the climate control on their favorite temp regardless of use of the vented or cooled seats...
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WiFi 5:39AM (4/07/2006)
They vent your butt - no need for toilet paper anymore ;-)
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