Ferrari patents a new method for heating the passenger compartment

In the age of electrification, car manufacturers are finding themselves rethinking long-established solutions, such as heating and cooling systems dedicated to the car interior: with an endothermic engine, regulate the interior temperature it's child's play, the excess heat is abundant and can be used to heat or cool the interior of the car, but electric cars do not generate heat to be reused in this way, which is why Ferrari is thinking about alternative solutions, waiting for its first electric car.

The American magazine  CarBuzz  has unearthed a new patent presented by the Maranello company to the US Patent Office; the patent focuses on two methods designed to allow the passenger compartment temperature to be controlled using a minimum amount of energy.

The first method devised by Ferrari is very simple and has already been applied by other car manufacturers: the The car is pre-conditioned, hot or cold, while it is still attached to the charging station, so that when you get behind the wheel, the temperature is already optimal and you just have to maintain it, significantly reducing consumption.

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The second method is based on the same premise as the first, i.e. pre-conditioning to minimize the energy consumption from the car battery, but in this case one element is added – the chassis of the auto – which acts as a heat sink, capable of storing or dissipating heat as needed.

--> In essence, the car chassis will be made with various hollow sections made of aluminum, designed to channel the air into the various areas of the car: the aluminum will take care of storing the heat and so the car will have a supply of energy ready to use when you unplug the charging cable. If necessary, the car could be equipped with a secondary system for heating the air circulating inside the chassis: this will be possible at the cost of some electricity from the battery, but the gain in terms of thermal efficiency is still important. All this will be possible thanks to a thermal insulation work between the chassis and the external environment which will allow the car to conserve the thermal energy stored for a long time, reducing the energy consumption from the battery pack to a minimum.

Obviously both of these solutions are not comparable to the simplicity of keeping the air conditioner on all the time without worrying about the effect on consumption, but they will still manage to keep the temperature on board at bay by reducing consumption to the bare minimum.