Abstract
Modern electric vehicle heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems operate in more efficient heat pump mode, thus, improving the driving range under cold ambient conditions. Coupling those HVAC systems with novel heating technologies such as infrared heating panels (IRP) results in a complex system with multiple actuators, which needs to be optimally coordinated to maximise the efficiency and comfort. The paper presents a multi-objective genetic algorithm-based control input allocation method, which relies on a multi-physical HVAC model and a CFD-evaluated cabin airflow distribution model implemented in Dymola. The considered control inputs include the cabin inlet air temperature, blower and radiator fan air mass flows, secondary coolant loop pump speeds, and IRP control settings. The optimisation objective is to minimise total electric power consumption and thermal comfort described by predictive mean vote (PMV) index. Optimisation results indicate that HVAC and IRP controls are effectively decoupled, and that a significant reduction of power consumption (typically from 20% to 30%) can be achieved using IRPs while maintaining the same level of thermal comfort. The previously proposed hierarchical HVAC control strategy is parameterised and extended with a PMV-based controller acting via IRP control inputs. The performance is verified through simulations in a heat-up scenario, and the power consumption reduction potential is analysed for different cabin air temperature setpoints.
Highlights
Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles is increasing strongly [1], with the trend bound to continue due to imposed emissions and carbon tax legislation, e.g., in the European Union [2] and China [3]
These results show that by using infrared heating panel (IRP) it is possible to significantly improve the thermal comfort in the cold cabin environment at the expense of somewhat increased power consumption
This is especially advantageous at cabin temperatures that marginally fall outside the comfortable Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) range (e.g., 15 ◦ C, Figure 5d), since using IRPs can bring the PMV into the comfort range in that case
Summary
Consumer acceptance of electric vehicles is increasing strongly [1], with the trend bound to continue due to imposed emissions and carbon tax legislation, e.g., in the European Union [2] and China [3]. The EV range significantly drops below the declared one when considering extremely hot or cold weather conditions since the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC). The vehicle range can be decreased by up to 60% [6,7] when compared to the declared range obtained at room temperature. This is especially emphasised in BEVs, which utilise highvoltage positive thermal coefficient (HV-PTC) resistive heaters for cabin air heating with a power rating of up to 5 kW for passenger vehicles. Since the coefficient of performance of HV-PTC heaters is 1 at maximum [8], this can lead to the high energy consumption of the HVAC system
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
