Turning Mazda Car Exhaust Into Power
Welcome to Southern California Mazda Blog’s first post, we’ll be writing about Mazda cars, Mazda car issues, car culture, and Southern California driving.
Sierra Mazda is happy to report that scientists and engineers are competing to meet a challenge. The Challenge is from the United States Department of Energy, and the goal of the challenge is to improve fuel economy 10 percent by converting wasted exhaust heat into energy that can help power cars and trucks. Ten percent might no seem like a lot, but it can really add up. For example, 10 percent savings would amount to more than 100 million gallons of fuel per year in GM vehicles (we don’t have the statistics on Mazdas in the U.S. yet) in the U.S. alone.
How is this car energy savings accomplished?
Mazda Blog: The thermoelectric pump, car exhaust energy
This team of scientists and engineers have developed and tested a gadget made of metal, which is attached to the exhaust pipe that produces electricity from the otherwise wasted heat of the exhaust. The gadget is called a thermoelectric generator, a device that uses temperature differences to generate power. It’s a small device that will really make a big difference in efficiency for all cars, including Mazdas.
When this particular thermoelectric generator is installed on a Chevy Suburban, it improved gas mileage by 1mpg (which is 5 percent). The generated electricity was used to reduce the load on the alternator, therefore using less fuel through reduced parasitic losses. A Suburban produces 15 kilowatts of exhaust heat energy during city driving, which is again, doesn’t seem like a lot, however, it’s enough to power three or four air conditioners simultaneously. When cruising between 50 and 60 mph, the generator can produce about 800 watts of power, which is enough to power the GPS device, the DVD player and potentially the water pumps. This device will be installed in a 2009 Suburban and a BMW to check how effective it becomes in real life. Thanks to my friend Chuck for the tip.
Remember, any little efficiency change helps a great deal because the technology will be enacted around the world, affecting millions of drivers and saving energy on a large scale. We should all think about ways we can make every part of our lives more efficient. Sierra Mazda of Monrovia and Southern California, is looking forward to a greener future.
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