System and method for heating a vehicle cabin

A system for heating a cabin of a motor vehicle, the system comprising:

• an internal combustion engine operatively connected to an exhaust system having a catalyst;
• a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• detect a request to increase temperature inside the cabin;
• supply fuel and air to the engine;
• motor the engine to pump the fuel and air into the exhaust system;
• heat the catalyst to combust the fuel and air inside the catalyst such that a stream of post-combustion exhaust gas is generated;
• and
• channel the generated stream of post-combustion exhaust gas to the HVAC system such that a temperature of a coolant circulated through the HVAC system is increased to heat the cabin.

A method of heating a cabin of a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine operatively connected to an exhaust system having a catalyst, a motor-generator configured to power the vehicle, and a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the method comprising:

• detecting via a controller a request to increase temperature inside the cabin;
• supplying via the controller fuel and air to the engine;
• motoring via the controller the engine via the motor-generator to pump the fuel and air into the exhaust system;
• heating the catalyst via an electric heating element regulated by the controller to combust the fuel and air inside the catalyst such that a stream of post-combustion exhaust gas is generated;
• and
• channeling via the controller the generated stream of post-combustion exhaust gas to the HVAC system such that a temperature of a coolant circulated through the HVAC system is increased to heat the cabin.