Whitepaper: Interior heating for special-purpose electric vehicles

⏱ approx. 5 minutes

Electric vehicles do not generate any engine waste heat - PTC Air Heaters HKRR are the solution for defrosting the windshield and heating the driver's cabin in winter

QUESTION

For several years, the German postal service has been increasingly relying on electric vehicles for delivering letters and parcels. The yellow, so-called "Streetscooters" can be seen on many German roads today. In order to ensure that these vehicles can also be operated in winter, the customer approached us with the following task:

How can we ensure heating of the interior and de-icing of the windshield in the all-electric delivery vehicle?

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

Developing a suitable heater which meets power & voltage requirements of the electric vehicle and reliably performs the tasks of de-icing the windshield and heating the passenger cabin.

CUSTOMER / INDUSTRY

Manufacturer of A/C solutions for special-purpose vehicles

CHALLENGE

Due to the purely electric drive, the engine in electric vehicles does not generate any waste heat that could be used to heat other parts of the vehicle. Therefore, an additional interior heater is required to ensure sufficient heating power.

Windshield defrosting and interior heating are provided by the ventilation system, which is why the heater must be an air heater.

In the voltage range of 268 - 450V, the challenge is to develop a multi-voltage-capable heater that does not pose any danger even in case of a failure.

TECHNICAL SOLUTION

PTC Heating Technology is perfectly suited for such applications. Thanks to the PTC effect, the heating elements dynamically adjust their output without exceeding a maximum temperature. PTC Air Heaters were designed for homogeneous heating of air flows which makes them applicable in ventilation system.

For the Streetscooter, a PTC Finned Resistor Heater of the HRKK40 series with mounting frame and temperature limiter was selected, specially designed for operation in a voltage range of 268 - 450V. It provides an output of up to 3500 watts and ensures a warm and ice-free driver's cab in winter.

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