According to the module division, automotive thermal management system includes three parts: cabin thermal management, battery thermal management, and motor electric control thermal management. Next, this article will focus on the automotive thermal management market, mainly cabin thermal management, and try to answer the above questions.
Heat pump or HVCH, car companies: I want them all
In the heating link, the heat source of traditional fuel car warm air conditioning often comes from the heat emitted by the engine, but new energy vehicles do not have an engine heat source, it is necessary to seek "external help" to produce heat. At present, PTC coolant heater and heat pump is the main "external assistance" of new energy vehicles.
PTC heating is through the thermistor to energize, so that the resistance to heat to raise the temperature.
The heat pump air conditioner has both cooling and heating conditions, and can carry heat from a low temperature place (outside the car) to a higher temperature place (inside the car), and the use of four-way reversing valve can make the heat pump air conditioner evaporator and condenser function to change each other, changing the direction of heat transfer to achieve the effect of summer cooling and winter heating.
In short, the principle of PTC air conditioning and heat pump air conditioning is different mainly because: PTC heating for "manufacturing heat", while the heat pump does not produce heat, but only the heat of the "mover".
Due to the advantages of energy efficiency, coupled with the application of low-temperature technology breakthroughs, heat pump air conditioning has become a major trend.
Of course, the heat pump is not without weaknesses "hexagonal warrior". In the conditions of low temperature, due to the heat pump air conditioning heat transfer device is difficult to effectively absorb heat from the outside environment, the heat pump heating efficiency will usually be reduced, and may even strike.
Therefore, many models, including Tesla Model Y and Azera ES6, have adopted the heat pump + PTC temperature control method, and still need to rely on High Voltage Ptc Heaters to maintain the temperature when the ambient temperature is below -10°C, providing a better heating effect for the cockpit and battery.
Of course, if the future CO2 low-temperature heat pump technology to achieve large-scale on board, the heat pump in the low-temperature scenario of the pain point will be alleviated. Perhaps by then no PTC assistance, only by CO2 heat pump will allow owners to achieve the freedom of warm air conditioning.
Influenced by the trend of integration and light weight, the thermal management technology of new energy vehicles is also gradually developing in the direction of high integration and intelligence.
Although the deepening of coupling of thermal management components has improved the efficiency of thermal management, the new valve parts and pipelines make the system more complex. In order to simplify the pipeline and reduce the space occupation rate of thermal management system, integrated components come into being, such as the eight-way valve adopted by Tesla in Model Y.
Post time: Mar-17-2023
