The focus of the new energy vehicle industry - "heat pump air conditioning"
The north has entered winter, and the lowest temperature has entered below zero degrees. New energy vehicles in this season must face the problem of reduced range. Drivers who have driven new energy vehicles in winter have this experience. In a low-temperature environment, the range of new energy vehicles will be greatly reduced. An important reason for the reduction in range is that driving at low temperatures requires turning on the heating air conditioner, which consumes very high energy.
Is there any way to reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning in new energy vehicles in winter? This requires talking about the heat pump air conditioner that is now popular on electric vehicles. What is a heat pump air conditioner? Simply put, it is an air conditioner with a heat pump. The heat pump is a bit like a water pump for pumping water, but the water pump is used to transport water, while the heat pump is used to transport heat. Therefore, the heat pump air conditioner says, I don't produce heat, I am just a transporter of heat energy. What is the difference between a heat pump air conditioner and an ordinary air conditioner? Because electric vehicles do not have an engine compressor, they rely on electric heating wires to generate electricity and heat, which is the ordinary air conditioner on electric vehicles. The simplest understanding of this type of air conditioner is a household heater, with a simple principle and structure, and good heating effect, but the disadvantage is that it consumes a lot of electricity.
The working principle of a heat pump air conditioner is to extract high-temperature air outside the car and discharge it into the car after compression and heating. At the same time, the low-temperature air in the car will also be sucked away by the heat pump. In the whole process, the electric energy of the electric car is used to transport heat, rather than the heat converted by itself, and the corresponding power consumption is reduced a lot.
However, heat pump air conditioner also has disadvantages. First, the cost is high, and not all electric cars are equipped with it. At present, only a few new energy vehicles below 100,000 yuan on the market will be equipped with heat pump air conditioners, such as BYD's Dolphin; only some models of 100,000 to 300,000 yuan will be equipped with heat pump air conditioners, such as BYD Han EV; only most cars above 300,000 yuan will consider standard configuration. Second, the heating will be slow. Ordinary air conditioners will heat up immediately as long as they are turned on, while heat pump air conditioners need to transport heat into the car step by step. If the outdoor temperature is particularly low, the heat is too scattered, and the heating efficiency will be reduced.
Therefore, the heat pump air conditioner has alleviated range anxiety to a certain extent and improved the driving experience of new energy vehicles, but there are still many aspects that need to be improved. I hope that new energy vehicles will have more solutions in thermal management technology in the future.
