Heated windows and infrared heat in general will make future electric cars from Kia and Hyundai go even longer on the same charge.
One of the electric car's biggest anchors is the range. Here, the car type just can't keep up with the internal combustion engine. At least not yet.
Now, however, Hyundai and Kia believe they have come up with something that should give just a bit more range in future electric cars.
In principle, it is heated windows that draw power from a 48-volt system. On the other hand, Hyundai/Kia believes that it can make all windows frost- and ice-free in just five minutes at temperatures down to minus 18 degrees.
The group writes this in a press release .
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This is, say the South Koreans, four times faster than a regular air conditioning system in a passenger car can handle the same task. Over the counter, the new system uses significantly less electricity. 10 percent less to be exact.
The system also has the advantage that the built-in metal coating in the windows can keep heat out on summer days.
Already last year, the Hyundai/Kia people presented a so-called 'nano-cooling film' that blocks sunlight and lowers the temperature in the cabin when the temperature outside exceeds 12 degrees. The film is completely clear and therefore not a form of window tinting as we know it from solar films today.
A third thing is that Hyundai/Kia has skewed slightly towards Toyota and developed a system for radiant heating directly from the steering wheel in the individual car. The same device can also be located in the glove compartment, in the center console and in door panels. In this way, it is faster to warm up the cabin.
According to Hyundai, both the first, second and third heat discharges are ready for serial production. At least from a technical perspective. The question then is whether it is commercially sustainable.
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