A method includes receiving, by a controller, information indicative of a temperature of an aftertreatment system of the vehicle and an exhaust gas characteristic. The method includes comparing, by the controller, the temperature of the aftertreatment system to a temperature threshold, and comparing, by the controller, the exhaust gas characteristic to a characteristic threshold. The method includes, responsive to the comparisons, commanding, by the controller, an aftertreatment system heater to selectively engage or disengage to warm the aftertreatment system of the vehicle.

What is described is a method for igniting a fuel/air mixture in a combustion chamber of an engine, wherein a pencil, which is electrically insulated with respect to walls of the combustion chamber and contains a heating resistor, is electrically heated to a temperature of at least 800 C. in the combustion chamber of the engine by applying a heating voltage, and a high voltage of at least 500 V, which is different from the heating voltage, is applied to the pencil and thereby ions are generated in the combustion chamber by field emission of electrons. The invention additionally relates to an ignition system and a glow plug.

A compression ignition engine includes an air intake port, an intake air heater disposed upstream of the air intake port and an air blend valve in communication with the intake air heater and the air intake port, and a control unit is configured to perform the noted method. A method includes determining a target temperature for intake air at an air intake port of a compression ignition engine; determining a maximum port temperature for an air blend valve of the engine; designating an intake air heater or the air blend valve as a primary actuator for controlling temperature of the intake air, based on the maximum port temperature of the air blend valve; and controlling the temperature of the intake air based on the designated primary actuator. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method.

A compression ignition engine includes an air intake port, an intake air heater disposed upstream of the air intake port and an air blend valve in communication with the intake air heater and the air intake port, and a control unit is configured to perform the noted method. A method includes determining a target temperature for intake air at an air intake port of a compression ignition engine; determining a maximum port temperature for an air blend valve of the engine; designating an intake air heater or the air blend valve as a primary actuator for controlling temperature of the intake air, based on the maximum port temperature of the air blend valve; and controlling the temperature of the intake air based on the designated primary actuator. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method.