Studies on an Energy-Efficient Air Conditioning of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Energy-efficient air conditioning of passenger cells is an ever-increasing challenge in the development of electric vehicles because the electric heating in particular reduces the cruising range significantly. For this reason, a simulation model has been developed at Chemnitz University of Technology, which simulates the whole air conditioning system including the passenger cell and the complete powertrain in electric cars. With the help of this model, differrent optimization approaches on the cruising range have been analyzed and evaluated. This paper first illustrates how much the cruising range of an exemplary electric vehicle is reduced by using the electric heating under different wintery weather conditions. Afterwards, the exploitation of the waste heat produced by the powertrain components (electric motor and power electronics) will be explained. Finally, it shall be described to what extent this exploitation increases the cruising range.