In a recent press release, Jaguar Land Rover unveiled that it is looking into ways to reduce the amount of energy consumed by the current heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems used in modern vehicles. According to JLR’s Director of Research and Technology, Dr. Wolfgang Epple, current HVAC systems can draw as much as 10 kW from the battery of electric vehicles, which can reduce electric range by up to 40 percent. Gasoline-powered vehicles also suffer from range loss, as air-conditioning can consume enough energy to reduce drive range by up to 20 percent.
Jaguar Land Rover has been researching how to heat or cool an air bubble inside the vehicle as opposed conditioning the entire cabin space. This would mean that compartments like the glove box and center console wouldn’t be conditioned by the HVAC system. Other areas like trunk space, areas under the seat, and even the area surrounding unused seats would also remain unconditioned. The air inside these so-called “air bubbles” would be passed through a special filter that would make the air quality better than that of the air outside the vehicle.
Another future innovation we may see from JLR is something they call the “Warm Air Blanket.” Instead of heating the air inside a vehicle, JLR wants to directly heat or cool each occupant directly. By using infrared panels strategically and invisibly placed around the vehicle, the skin of each occupant can be warmed instead of the air inside the cabin. The sensation of warmth would be almost immediate because of how quickly and efficiently the infrared panels work. The panels would be hidden inside the sun visors, glove box and center console doors, and on the floor around the transmission tunnel. Early tests results have apparently shown that this technology alone can reduce the energy consumption of a vehicle’s HVAC system by 50 percent.
Other ideas include using infrared reflective (IRR) glass to prevent heating of the cabin by the sun’s rays, and by directing a flow of warm or cool air through porous surfaces in the seats. Since the direct effect of heating or cooling would be felt by vehicle occupants, it wouldn’t be necessary to operate the HVAC system constantly to maintain comfort. All of this is only part of what JLR is working on to reduce the energy consumption of all vehicles, and the emissions output of gasoline-powered vehicles. Read on to see what other innovations JLR has been working on.
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