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Quickclear And Fuel Economy


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I was recently talking about QuickClear Windscreen and the question of if it has any impact on fuel economy. I know it uses quite a bit of power but does it have any impact on economy?

Would think any impact would be small as unlike A/C it is on for such a short period.

Any ideas or thoughts?

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Yes, it affects fuel economy, the power it uses must come frome somewhere, it comes from the battery,and the alternator, that has to work harder so puts a small additional extra load on the engine which then uses more fuel

I have been told it uses a fair bit of electrical power, realative to other items

It probably does not have a large or significant effect on MPG, though but "adds up" with other additional extra electrical loads

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the A/C in my mums 1.6 petrol focus has been on more or less permanently a year after we bought it and its still giving the same MPG.

its the same in my forfour. my light are on permanently as well as the A/C and im still getting over 40MPG, the same as when my light and A/C were off.

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In independant tests AC was found to affect MPG around town negatively by a significant amount

But at a constant cruising speed the AC made very little difference to MPG

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I can back that yes it does slightly affect mpg although tbh it will no where affect mpg more than your right foot. I use my heated screens front and back this includes heated wing mirrors and jet nozzles every morning first thing for sure you can feel the extra load on the engine but like I said none of this matters if you're gonna floor the gas pedal at least once per journey.

On my 1.6tdci the instant fuel display on the dash displays 1 unit being used idling on a warm engine. 3 units idling on cold and still 3 on cold with heated front and rear screens on.

With all of this I am still able to get 400 miles out of each tank around london with my boot loaded. For london stop and start driving this is good.

I can only imagine how much more miles I could get without the excess weight

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app

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On my 1989 Honda Shuttle I could see the engine slow (on the rev counter) simply by applying the brake pedal when stationary, so lighting the two stop lamps. Turning on the rear screen had a much more dramatic effect, showing how much harder the engine has to work whenever electrical power is used.

These days engine management systems hide this from you - the engine speed is held constant using sensors and CPUs. But even so, the gallons/hour readout will show that you only have to turn on a few lights to double the fuel costs while remaining stationary.

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On my 1989 Honda Shuttle I could see the engine slow (on the rev counter) simply by applying the brake pedal when stationary, so lighting the two stop lamps.

This is more likely to be the result of the vaccuum takeoff to the master cylinder, that works the brakes, than the lights.

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In short, yes it will affect fuel economy. However, seeing as you'll only use the heated screen briefly at the beginning of your journey, it's impact is going to be small, particularly if you have a long way to go. Shorter trips and it's impact will be greater.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Ford OC mobile app

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The information i have is the quickclear screen pulls 50 Amps of power (approx 600w) the total output of the alternator is apparently 700w, so its a LOT of power,although the timer lasts for 4 minites, it could take the alternator a lot longer (probably 20 minites) to recharge the battery - especially if other electrical items are being used, any reduction in electrical use/ load will help the battery charge quicker, (even little things) and reduce the load on the alternator, and of course, reducing load on the alternator reduces the load on the engine, improving MPG

It must be stressed that this only represents a small part/ percentage of the overall MPG - but it all adds up

If you reduce the weight in the car to a minimum, with no exess junk being hauled about, then you choose the most economical tyres, and run them hard, etc etc, and the use you use of electrical items can all add up to a fair few MPG

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The way i see it you have two choices.

1. Sit in your car, turn on the heated screen and watch the ice melt, turn heated screen off and drive away with a nice clean screen.

2. Scrape the ice off, or spray de-icer, while freezing your nuts off. Get in the car, turn it on and drive off.

I know which option i use, even if it does use a bit of Petrol. :)

As far as i know only fiat have copied this, not sure why every car company hasnt. Nothing better after doing a night shift then being able to get in your car, turn it on, sit there for two minutes while it heats up and cleans the screen while you watch your work mates scrapping and spraying. ;)

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As far as i know only fiat have copied this, not sure why every car company hasn't 

I believe Ford patented it, therefore had the rights to use the technology solely for a few years. It trickled through onto once Ford owned brands like Volvo a couple of years ago, but I believe other manufacturers can now do it too.

VW group cars definitely now come with the option of a heated screen.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Ford OC mobile app

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Some Mercedes also use the technology.

Audi use heated washer nozzles and some of the higher end cars have heated steering wheels :wub:

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The information i have is the quickclear screen pulls 50 Amps of power (approx 600w) the total output of the alternator is apparently 700w, so its a LOT of power,although  the timer lasts for 4 minites, it could take the alternator a lot longer (probably 20 minites) to recharge the battery - especially if other electrical items are being used, any reduction in electrical use/ load will help the battery charge quicker, (even little things) and reduce the load on the alternator, and of course, reducing load on the alternator reduces the load on the engine, improving MPG

 

It must be stressed that this only represents a small part/ percentage of the overall MPG - but it all adds up  

 

If you reduce the weight in the car to a minimum, with no exess junk being hauled about, then you choose the most economical tyres, and run them hard, etc etc,  and the use you use of electrical items can all add up to a fair few MPG  

As always I'm a bit critical, curious really. The 1.6l focus alternator kicks out 120A at 14v or 12v thats 1440W at 12v. alternators produce more than 12v and rounded its actually 14v giving a max output of 1680W. There is also a 150A focus alternator. Keep in mind that once the car is reving it will generate more energy than is needed to power the alternator.

If you were to include 4 bulbs at 55w each plus heated screens, wiper motors, brake booster, fan. The car alternator must be able to put out atleast 1kw of juice otherwise the battery would never charge on during normal use

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Ford OC mobile app

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Some Mercedes also use the technology.

Audi use heated washer nozzles and some of the higher end cars have heated steering wheels :wub:

My Z4 had a heated steering wheel and its the only day-to-day thing I REALLY miss about the car.

£150 option but it went from 0 to toastie in under a minute and I used it every day last winter.

Apart from this, on the whole I find the Fiesta more enjoyable to own. :)

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I would always say anything heated is worth it on a cold morning even if it does use a little fuel! Heated windscreens, washer jets, mirrors and seat are the way forward! A heated steering wheel would be nice though! :D

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