Within the research project "Development of a method for numerical optimization of heating and cooling of electric cars" MERKLE & PARTNER cooperates with the Research Institute of Automotive Engineering and Vehicle Engines Stuttgart (FKFS) and AUDI AG. The research project is funded by the BMBF as part of the funding program "KMU-innovativ - Verbundvorhaben Klimaschutz". The project sponsor is PT DLR.
Research project E-Mo Heiz
Task / Calculation
The efficiency of internal combustion engines in motor vehicles is around 35%. The energy contained in the fuel (gasoline, diesel) is therefore largely converted into heat and exhaust gas. A small part of this waste heat is used to heat the vehicle in conventional drive systems. The heating requirement of a conventional mid-size car is about 7 kW and can therefore be provided effortlessly. The same applies to cooling the passenger compartment with the aid of the air conditioning system.
In electric vehicles, the energy required for heating and cooling the passenger compartment must be taken from the battery. The energy extracted thus directly reduces the range of a purely electrically powered vehicle.
The calculation methods available to date for calculating the air-conditioning behavior of passenger compartments in passenger cars are too coarse and therefore need to be investigated more closely for the most efficient air-conditioning possible and optimized to the required degree of accuracy.
This is the subject of the research project E-Mo-Heiz.
Through a better knowledge of the mechanisms (where is my thermal energy and where is it needed), an optimization of electric vehicles can take place with regard to maximum range with acceptable heating and cooling behavior.