Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather

Jeffers, Matthew A.; Chaney, Larry; Rugh, John P.

doi:10.4271/2016-01-0262

Title: Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather

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Abstract

When operated, the climate control system is the largest auxiliary load on a vehicle. This load has significant impact on fuel economy for conventional and hybrid vehicles, and it drastically reduces the driving range of all electric vehicles (EVs). Heating is even more detrimental to EV range than cooling because no engine waste heat is available. Reducing the thermal loads on the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system will extend driving range and increase the market penetration of EVs. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have evaluated strategies for vehicle climate control load reduction with special attention toward grid connected electric vehicles. Outdoor vehicle thermal testing and computational modeling were used to assess potential strategies for improved thermal management and to evaluate the effectiveness of thermal load reduction technologies. A human physiology model was also used to evaluate the impact on occupant thermal comfort. Experimental evaluations of zonal heating strategies demonstrated a 5.5% to 28.5% reduction in cabin heating energy over a 20-minute warm-up. Vehicle simulations over various drive cycles show a 6.9% to 18.7% improvement in EV range over baseline heating using the most promising zonal heating strategy investigated. A national-level analysis was conducted to determine the overallmore »« less

Authors:: Jeffers, Matthew A.; Chaney, Larry; Rugh, John P.

Publication Date:: Tue Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2016

Research Org.:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)

OSTI Identifier:: 1248970

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5400-66323
Journal ID: ISSN 1946-4002

DOE Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars. Mechanical Systems (Online)

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 9; Journal Issue: 1; Related Information: SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems; Journal ID: ISSN 1946-4002

Publisher:: SAE International

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; electric vehicle; thermal load; load reduction; climate control; fuel economy

Citation Formats


                    Jeffers, Matthew A., Chaney, Larry, and Rugh, John P. Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather.  United States: N. p., 2016. 
        Web.  doi:10.4271/2016-01-0262.

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                    Jeffers, Matthew A., Chaney, Larry, & Rugh, John P. Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-0262

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                    Jeffers, Matthew A., Chaney, Larry, and Rugh, John P. 2016.  
        "Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.4271/2016-01-0262.

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@article{osti_1248970,

  title        = {Climate Control Load Reduction Strategies for Electric Drive Vehicles in Cold Weather},

  author       = {Jeffers, Matthew A. and Chaney, Larry and Rugh, John P.},

  abstractNote = {When operated, the climate control system is the largest auxiliary load on a vehicle. This load has significant impact on fuel economy for conventional and hybrid vehicles, and it drastically reduces the driving range of all electric vehicles (EVs). Heating is even more detrimental to EV range than cooling because no engine waste heat is available. Reducing the thermal loads on the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system will extend driving range and increase the market penetration of EVs. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have evaluated strategies for vehicle climate control load reduction with special attention toward grid connected electric vehicles. Outdoor vehicle thermal testing and computational modeling were used to assess potential strategies for improved thermal management and to evaluate the effectiveness of thermal load reduction technologies. A human physiology model was also used to evaluate the impact on occupant thermal comfort. Experimental evaluations of zonal heating strategies demonstrated a 5.5% to 28.5% reduction in cabin heating energy over a 20-minute warm-up. Vehicle simulations over various drive cycles show a 6.9% to 18.7% improvement in EV range over baseline heating using the most promising zonal heating strategy investigated. A national-level analysis was conducted to determine the overall national impact. If all vehicles used the best zonal strategy, the range would be improved by 7.1% over the baseline heating range. This is a 33% reduction in the range penalty for heating.},

  doi          = {10.4271/2016-01-0262},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1248970},
  journal      = {SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars. Mechanical Systems (Online)},

  issn         = {1946-4002},

  number       = 1,

  volume       = 9,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Tue Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2016},

  month        = {Tue Apr 05 00:00:00 EDT 2016}

}

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