Hanon Systems, an auto parts manufacturing company headquartered in Daejeon, South Korea, has developed a fourth-generation heat pump system for EVs, and Thin HVAC, an HVAC system for EVs that is 30% smaller than the standard model used today. .
The company's new heat pump uses the same heat source recovery method that uses waste heat from the car and battery and heat from the outside air. The recovered heat is used for both heating and cooling, as well as battery temperature management, a feature that can improve driving range.
“By continuing to refine the design of our heat pump system to improve efficiency and reduce energy consumption requirements, Hanon Systems has contributed to increasing EV driving range with its latest offering,” said Subu Nagasubramony, the company's CEO. Nagasubramony stressed that the company's designs focus on using “simple” and “high-performance” materials.
MORE: Why heat pumps dominate EV HVAC systems
The question of what new methods can be used to heat the cabin of an EV is not trivial. The current method of heating the interior of a car dates back to 1893, when pioneering engineer Margaret Wilcox pioneered a way to warm passengers by directing air between the engine and the interior of the car. Soon after, the engine coolant became a heat transfer device. Using dirty energy is wise; wasting energy is not, and there is friction.
Previous methods used to heat EV cabins included passive heaters, which heat the electrical wires and blow air over them. That process draws a lot of power from the battery. Others, including the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Bolt, heat the cabin by using their battery packs to heat the heater core's coolant.
These methods are necessary because, unlike ICE vehicles, which use excess heat from the engine to warm the cabin, EVs produce very little waste heat and therefore must rely on their batteries to warm things up. Cold winter temperatures pose different challenges for EVs, including reduced range, because the battery's ability to store and release energy as efficiently as it does in warmer months is significantly reduced.
A growing number of EVs now come with heat pumps for thermal control, but Hanon's system combines both battery heat and external air heat sources, a combination that increases the EV's range rather than reducing it. The new Thin HVAC offering is also 30% smaller, so it fits less into the passenger compartment, allowing EV makers to provide drivers and passengers with more resting space.
The new heat pump technology is available from July 2024 and was first used in the Kia EV3, as was the Thin HVAC.
Source: Hanon Systems