In order to
analyze the heating effect of the films for cars, the researchers
connected them to
a power source and monitored them using a thermo camera.
© Fraunhofer IPA
(September 2, 2015) If
you don‘t want to freeze in your electric car, you have to make a few
concessions, because heating devours a substantial portion of power supply.
Fraunhofer researchers will exhibit the demo model of a highly energy-efficient
heating system for electric cars at the IAA: a coated film that produces a
broad, radiant heat.
Electric car drivers now have one more reason to love the
summer, because in the winter, the vehicle’s range declines markedly due to the
additional energy demanded by the heating system. Electric cars generate next
to no heat as opposed to conventional passenger vehicles, which produce more
than enough engine heat to heat the interior. An additional electric heater is
required. This is supplied with power by the same battery that provides the
engine with energy. “In the most unfavorable case, you can only drive half the
usual distance with the car”, says Serhat Sahakalkan, project manager at the
Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA in
Stuttgart.
Researchers at the IPA have developed a film-based panel
heater, which quickly provides a comfortable warmth in electric cars, which is
– particularly on short journeys – more effective than former electric heaters.
The heating concept is based on a film that is coated with conductive carbon
nanotubes (CNTs). For this, the researchers spray on a very thin layer of CNT
dispersion. “The film is glued to the inner door trim and generates a
comfortable warmth there in the area of the armrest within a very short time”,
Sahakalkan explains. The heater functions in accordance with the Joule
principle: When electricity flows through the film, it comes across a natural
resistance between the individual nanoparticles. These “collisions” generate
heat.