Grupo Antolin claims it has developed a new interior cabin heating innovation to help improve energy efficiency in EVs.
It notes that the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems used to provide adequate thermal comfort conditions for passengers represent the second largest ‘energy thieves’ in electric vehicles. Under adverse winter conditions and demanding driving situations, providing thermal comfort to passengers by heating the passenger compartment can reduce vehicle range by up to 60%, the company says.
Grupo Antolin has worked on efficient heating alternatives to promote sustainable mobility by means of reducing energy consumption and improving autonomy.
After exploring numerous and varied technological alternatives, Grupo Antolin says it has focused on using heated surfaces that provide thermal comfort employing infrared radiation. Any surface at a high temperature emits radiation in the infrared spectrum that can be used for the targeted heating of passengers at a given distance. The research work carried out by Grupo Antolin has enabled the company to employ the appropriate technologies to apply this principle to the complicated task of providing passengers with personalized and focused heating, without the waste of energy involved in heating all the air inside the cabin.
Grupo Antolin has integrated heating elements in the surfaces of the interior parts. It says that by combining simulations adapted to the different environments and optimizing the management of the heating elements, Grupo Antolin has managed to significantly increase the efficiency of the system in terms of energy and comfort.
The company claims the results of this ‘intelligent approach’ allow the reduction of energy consumption associated with passenger heating by up to 70% depending on the use case, providing users with better thermal comfort than traditional systems in less time. In this way, this global system would increase the autonomy of electric vehicles by 29%, representing a qualitative leap in overcoming their autonomy limitations.
It also says the global and intelligent method also solves the initial heating problems of vehicles powered by combustion engines.
In addition to the benefits mentioned, there are differentiating factors that increase user comfort, such as the elimination of noise, the suppression of odours or discomfort associated with air flows, the elimination of system maintenance, or customization adaptable to the different occupants of the cabin.
Grupo Antolin also says the technology can be integrated with new solutions developed by the company, such as functional and dynamic lighting which helps, by colour modification, to the optimal thermal sensation of the occupants in whatever the circumstances.