Get in a Warm Car in the Winter

I don't know about you in Spain or Southern California, but where I am the winter is real and long. Getting in a cold car in the morning is not a pleasant experience. To make it more enjoyable here is an easy way to make yourself a cheap, easy, and automated car cabin heating system.

Please note that such systems are available in many forms and with different options - heating not only the coupe of your car but the engine as well and so on. In some cases, only the remote control for the entire heating system costs more than my whole setup. I know that because recently sought one that I did not use.

My post focuses on cabin heating only.

Before installation makes sure that all of the cables are suitable for the voltage levels you are planning to use, that are not damaged and that are compatible with each other and with the heater. A good idea is to connect everything in advance and to test it out.

- Car cabin heater unit (blower).

- Connecting cable.

- Inlet cable.

- Extension inlet cable. (Optional)

- Cab wall socket.

- Smart electric plug, placed in a location with WiFi coverage.

- Extension cable suitable for outdoor use. (Optional)

- Protective box. (Optional)

Find an electric outlet located in a place with WiFi coverage and connect the smart plug.

Set it up so it would work with your mobile device. This is how you will control your heating system and you can set up different profiles and schedules.

Connect the extension cable suitable for outdoor use, if that is necessary. This cable needs to be able to provide you with electricity close to the place where your car is parked.

Connect the connecting cable to the end of the extension cable suitable for outdoor use. Use a protective box at the connection point if that is nessecary. The connecting cable must be compatible with the inlet cable that will be installed in your car.

Depending on the cables you have bought, follow the installation instructions. They may be different for different cars. For example, I manage to install the inlet cable without making holes in the front bumper of my car thanks to enough space between the front grill.

Usually, the process consists of:

- Finding an appropriate location where to mount it on the externally facing part of the inlet cable. This is the point of interaction between the setup from step 1 and the rest of the system. The inlet cable needs to be placed in the engine space of your car following some simple rules - keep it away from heat and moving parts as well as find the best path so that is not in your way when you need to change your battery for example.

- Finding a place where the cables can be passed into the cabin. Before starting to drill holes, look for rubber insulation that is already used to seals other connections going from the engine to the cabin. I found such a place and with a little cut in the rubber sealing I manage to pass the inlet cable into the cabin. After the passage, I sealed the space around the hole with some silicone. So no water will get inside the cabin.

After you manage to pass the inlet cable or its extension inside the cabin connect the cab wall socket and fixed it in a suitable location. Avoid places where is most likely to become wet and thy keep it away from the cabin floor.

Place the heating unit according to its specific requirements, but in general, you need to think about 2 things:

- Air intake - there should be enough space so that the heater fan can suck air without any obstructions or something covering the fan.

- Air blow - there should be enough space so that the hot air can go out unhindered. And without any other components on its way, like the cables for my GPS :)

After finding an appropriate location follow the instructions for mounting the heating unit.

Connect the heating unit to the cab wall socket.

-- Another alternative to this setup is to replace the smart electric plug at the beginning and to use one with a thermostat placed in your car, plugged into the cab wall socket. Like this one for example - https://www.millheat.com/smart-wifi-socket/wifisocket-x4bkm-b53lt, but then you need to make sure the parking location has WiFi coverage. --

Now you can enjoy your warm car in the cold mornings by makings yourself a schedule when the heating to start and stop.

Do not forget to connect the inlet and the connecting cables in the evening, but more importantly do not forget to unplug it before driving the car on your way to work.