Fuel-Operated Auxiliary Heaters Are a Major Additional Source of Vehicular Particulate Emissions in Cold Regions

Fuel-operated auxiliary heaters (AHs) can be notable sources of particle emissions from vehicles. The emissions of AHs are unregulated, and the number of devices is high; therefore, they make considerable contributions to local air quality, and even the global emissions budget. Experiments for study...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmosphere Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 1105
Main Authors Karjalainen, Panu, Nikka, Markus, Olin, Miska, Martikainen, Sampsa, Rostedt, Antti, Arffman, Anssi, Mikkonen, Santtu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2021
Subjects
Aerosols
Air quality
Automobiles
auxiliary heaters
Climate change
Climate effects
Cold
Cold regions
Compressed air
Diesel fuels
Electric vehicles
Emissions
Exhaust pipes
Gasoline
Heaters
Idling
particle number
Particulate emissions
Vehicle emissions
Vehicles
Finland
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Summary:Fuel-operated auxiliary heaters (AHs) can be notable sources of particle emissions from vehicles. The emissions of AHs are unregulated, and the number of devices is high; therefore, they make considerable contributions to local air quality, and even the global emissions budget. Experiments for studying the emissions were performed in Finland for a total of eight selected vehicles with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) AHs installed, including both diesel- and gasoline-operated heaters. We present the numerical results of particle emissions and compare the particle concentrations in the AH exhaust to values found in the tailpipe exhaust of the same vehicle. Our results show that the emissions from auxiliary heaters are typically several orders of magnitude higher than of a car exhaust when idling. This raises the question of whether the use of heaters is justified based on the goal to reduce total emissions from vehicle use; furthermore, whether fuel-operated heaters should also be applied in electric vehicles for cabin heating. More research will be needed to characterize the emissions more thoroughly to understand the air quality and climate effects from AHs, and to provide further recommendations on the use of these heaters.
ISSN:2073-4433
2073-4433
DOI:10.3390/atmos12091105