Jaguar Land Rover Reveals Innovative Warm Air Blanket Research to Reduce Vehicle Emissions

Jaguar Land Rover Reveals Innovative Warm Air Blanket Research to Reduce Vehicle Emissions

Jaguar Land Rover has showcased some of the new and innovative low and zero emission technologies it is researching at this year’s CENEX Low Carbon Vehicle event. As well as showing Battery Electric Vehicle, Plug-In Hybrid and Mild Hybrid technologies, Jaguar Land Rover’s research engineers have revealed how they are researching more efficient heating and ventilation systems and new solutions to reduce vehicle weight to improve emissions and fuel economy.

OneShift Editorial Team
OneShift Editorial Team
14 Sep 2015

Because Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) consume substantial amounts of energy and therefore fuel, or electrical energy stored in the battery of a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), Jaguar Land Rover is working on research projects that could dramatically reduce the energy consumed when heating and cooling a vehicle.

Rather than continuously heating or cooling a flow of air as it enters the car, Jaguar Land Rover is researching how a car could heat or cool an ‘ inside the vehicle once, and then maintain the temperature and quality of this air bubble using innovative new HVAC technologies. These include infra-red reflective (IRR) glass, tailor-made for the solar radiation profile of an individual region or country. The glass would reflect the sun’s rays so less energy is required to cool the inside of the car.

Air Bubble’

To maintain the breathable quality of the warmed or cooled bubble of air, cabin air would be passed through a special filter in the vehicle boot. This filter would remove CO2, moisture and particulates from the cabin air and provide better air quality inside the vehicle than out.

In the future it may also not even be necessary to heat or cool the volume of air inside the car. Instead the car could directly heat or cool the occupants with warm or cold air flowing through porous surfaces in the seats. Infra-red panels, invisibly embedded inside sun visors, door tops, the glove box door and the sides of the transmission tunnel would surround each occupant and would radiate heat to the body. This ‘Warm Air Blanket’ would cocoon individual occupants in their own microclimate, and warm just the occupant’s skin rather than maintaining the entire cabin at a given temperature.

Because the panels heat up quickly and efficiently, and because the sensation of feeling warm is almost immediate, energy consumption could be dramatically reduced. By combining these techniques, early test results show it is possible to reduce the consumption of an HVAC system by half, from 8-12kW, to 4-6kW.

Jaguar Land Rover’s research team is investigating whether a vehicle’s copper-based wiring loom and electrical components could be replaced with innovative wafer-thin circuits, currently used in curved televisions. The technology could be deployed as a lightweight and space-saving alternative to traditional wiring for features including instruments, switches, sensing, lighting, heating and displays.

printed electronic

Using a forming process called thermoplastic composite stamping, Jaguar Land Rover research engineers have succeeded in developing a new type of lightweight polymer seat structure that weighs 30 per cent less than an equivalent steel-based seat structure. The seat technology makes the structural components work as part of the comfort system and enables consolidation of parts, reducing weight. Seat cushions and fabric covering are also optimised for weight without impinging on comfort. This enables less foam depth, which offers a slimmer seat profile. This could also aid packaging and liberate more space within the vehicle.

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Credits: Oneshift News Team

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