Why vehicals in Canada put their head lights on during the day time, will it effect global heating?

Question

Each vehical small or big when started, head lights gets on with the starting of the ignition, the heat and energy emitted will have an impact on the global heating issue.

This my though. I do not have figures nor have evidence to support and prove what it does effect.

Answer 1

All of the computer models that are used to 'predict' future catastrophe from global warming leave out a crucial piece of the puzzle:  cloud formation and resultant precipitation.  The reason?  It can't be reliably measured for the entire planet.

Without that data, any conclusions drawn by what I like to call the 'calamity pimps' are totally meaningless.  In other words, a blatant lie - they know they don't have all the facts but they don't care.

In comparison to the the global effect of clouds and precipitation, which cannot be measured, any tiny amount of heat - you can place your hand in front of a lit automotive headlamp and feel some warmth but move your hand a foot away and you feel nothing - is less than a drop in a bucket.

Answer 2

There is a significant increase in car accidents at dusk because the loss of light is enough to decrease visibility, but not so much that motorists feel turning on their lights increases their ability to see.   Having the lights on greatly increases the visibility of the car.  It doesn't improve your ability to SEE but rather to BE SEEN.

The transition between day and night takes longer at high latitudes due to the position of the sun relative to the horizon.

In Canada, the duration of dusk (or gloaming) conditions is long enough to warrant mandating "lights on" all the time.  Even in full sunlight, "lights on" adds a marginal benefit to visibility... e.g., it's easier to tell the difference between a car waiting to enter traffic (and thus likely to pull out in front of you) v. a car parked at the corner.

You see similar statutes in the US requiring lights-on if your windshield-wipers are on.   Reduced visibility, lights-on makes it easier to see your car through the rain or road mist.

The energy released by the headlamps is insignificant relative to the energy released by the car overall.   Further, the energy that could be saved is insignificant relative to the energy released during a vehicle collision that might otherwise have been prevented if the lights were on.

Answer 3

I don't think that it has much effect on the environment full stop, let alone global warming.

Answer 4

i don,t belive  driveing with your head light on has any effect on global warming

Answer 5

European vehicles had fewer accidents in the 70's and 80's attributing the reason to be seen as a moving vehicle and not a parked vehicle.  Most Canadian drivers are very distracted (smoking, eating, makeup, cell text messaging, etc.) therefore very stupid when it comes to concentrating at the task on hand ... driving safely!  We need all forms of technology and legislation to protect the innocent from these jerks.  Global heating: your breath is much hotter than the output of most headlights.

Answer 6

I don't know if it has already been mentioned, but the more likely scenario where having millions of cars with their headlights on affects global warming is due to the lost efficiency of the engine resulting in more fuel being burnt and therefore more carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. When headlights are burnt, there is a slight draw on the alternator to maintain the charge of the battery and/or current going to the headlights. Although very small and seemingly negligible, this "draw" can decrease fuel efficiency by 0.1% to 1% depending on vehicle, so we're talking maybe a half mile or less per gallon of fuel(or kilometer or less per 2 liters). This multiplied by millions of vehicles running during the daytime in Canada may actually lead to a few hundred thousand liters of fuel that would not have been burnt otherwise. However, I don't think that would have much more of a true effect on global warming than we already cast with the relatively much larger burning of fuel just to get the cars moving. In other words, increased efficiency and less driving would curb global warming much more than turning off the headlights. Daytime running lights do save lives. Also, the heat produced from the headlights is negligible. It's the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that matters as far as global warming whereas most excess heat will be lost to space if a higher amount of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas were not in the atmosphere in order to trap it in the first place. Besides, if you're worried about heat, think about the engine heat, not lights. The heat of the lights indirectly comes from the engine(burning of fuel anyway) with a lot of energy loss, so in reality the engine will give off much more heat in order for the lights to give off heat.