The idea of integrating more and more heating surfaces continues to inspire manufacturers and equipment manufacturers. Belts, armrests, door panels or sun visors, what if these elements become heated?
The basic principle is not really new: it is often recommended to favor heated seats, and the heated steering wheel, as an alternative to heating in a car. Heating the elements in contact with the human body and the surrounding materials, rather than heating the air, would save precious kilowatt hours of consumption in winter. Ford is currently conducting research in this direction on these electric utilities, we learned on February 22, 2023. The equipment manufacturer ZF has meanwhile presented the concept of a heated seatbelt in early January 2023.
The two tracks are quite interesting and complementary. One could easily imagine vehicles which, in addition to heated seats and steering wheel, could also offer: belts, armrests, door panels or heated sun visors.
The heating, the kryptonite of the electric car
In winter, the consumption of electric cars is higher, around 20 to 30% depending on the model. Part of this increase is directly related to the heating of the passenger compartment. The electric vehicle cannot benefit, like thermal vehicles, from the heat released by its engine to warm its interior.
To reduce consumption related to heating, manufacturers sometimes offer a heat pump, as standard or as an option. But, whether the vehicle is fitted with an electrical resistance or a heat pump, warming up the passenger compartment will always consume a lot of energy on start-up. To reduce this overconsumption, many vehicles are also equipped with heated seats, and occasionally heated steering wheel, which allow less use of the heating by ventilation. Would it be possible to consider other solutions to further reduce this consumption linked to heating? The trail of adding different heating elements in the cabin seems to make sense.
Integrating Multiple Panel Heaters into Ford Electric Utility Vehicles
The example of utility vehicles, intended for professionals, seems particularly relevant to the experiment conducted by Ford. It is easy to imagine that a parcel deliverer, who stops to get out of his vehicle very frequently, will waste heat as soon as he opens his door. If the cabin were to be heated only by traditional heating, the utility could lose significant autonomy in winter. The aerodynamics of a utility does not offer great efficiency, all the savings in consumption are therefore good to take.
For its research, Ford has equipped an e-Transit utility vehicle with different heated surfaces, to measure the impact of these on consumption linked to the need for heating the passenger compartment. These different added heating elements are:
- the armrests,
- the floor mat,
- door panels,
- the sun visor,
- a panel under the steering wheel.
Engineers have found that energy consumption could be reduced by 13% thanks to surface heating, compared to standard air conditioning. This can result in an increase of around 5% in the vehicle’s range. It is always good to take.
Another idea: the heating belt from ZF
The innovation proposed by the equipment manufacturer ZF may seem like a gadget, but the results put forward by the company may be puzzling. Combined with heated seats, the use of seat belt heaters would reduce consumption related to heating in a car by 15%.
The belt would very easily complement the use of the heated seat, by warming the front part of the body with gentle heat, between 36 and 40°. This method would provide a comfortable and diffuse heating in the body for the passengers of the vehicle. This would then make it possible to reduce the heating needs diffused in the passenger compartment in winter, and therefore to gain in autonomy.
Another advantage of ZF’s heating belt is that it does not require changing the belt retention system. This heating belt is barely thicker than a traditional seat belt, it would not bother the user more and would provide the same safety.
The heating elements are woven directly into the textile material of the belt and the electronic elements are offset so as not to interfere with the normal use of the belt and the retention system. It is then a solution which could be very easily adopted by the various car manufacturers.
It would not be surprising to see these various novelties and research integrate production electric cars fairly quickly. Anything that can save energy consumption is good to take.
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