A method of controlling a heating element in thermal communication with a rear window of a vehicle comprises: with a vehicle being in an external environment and comprising a rear window and a heating element in thermal communication with the rear window, a controller in communication with the heating element, the controller including a Pre-established Predictive Activation Model setting forth rules governing activation of the heating element as a function of data relating to Certain Identifiable Conditions, and a user interface configured to allow the heating element to be manually activated or deactivated; collecting data relating to the Certain Identifiable Conditions; determining, by comparing the collected data to the rules of the Pre-established Predictive Activation Model, whether the collected data satisfies the rules of the Pre-established Predictive Activation Model so as to initially automatically activate the heating element; and automatically activating the heating element.