Why is thick film heating technology the most preferred
Technology at present?
The mainstream heating mode has differentiated into two technical routes - PTC heater and heat pump system. But the relationship between the two is not either one or the other, but more like a pair of "plastic partners". Why do you say that?
Let's look at the PTC heater first.
PTC, that is, a positive temperature coefficient thermistor. When the ambient temperature decreases, the PTC resistance will also decrease. At this time, when the power is turned on at a constant voltage, the resistance becomes smaller, which will cause the current to increase, and the heat generated by the power will increase accordingly, which can achieve the effect of heating.
There are two solutions for PTC heating, water heating, and air heating. The former is to heat the coolant through PTC and then exchange heat with the radiator; the latter is that the cold air directly exchanges heat with PTC and finally blows out warm air.
The technology is mature, but the problem is that PTC heating consumes a lot of energy, which seriously reduces the cruising range of electric vehicles. For example, a 2 kW PTC heater consumes 2 kWh of electricity for one hour at full power. If calculated based on 15 kWh of electricity per 100 kilometers, 2 kWh is approximately equal to a cruising range of 13 kilometers. In actual situations, the system will also control the power of PTC: windshield defrosting requires about 2- 3 kW of PTC power; heating coolant may require about 6 kW of PTC power.
As a result, the heat pump, the "plastic partner" of PTC, is online.
Heat pump, that is, heat "transporter" - absorbs the heat of low-temperature "objects", such as cold air outside the car, transfers it to the working fluid, and then compresses the working fluid to heat it up. Finally, the high-temperature working fluid exchanges heat with the air inside the car through the condenser to achieve the function of warm air.
PTC technology is simple, but its disadvantages are limited inherent capabilities, instability and power consumption; heat pump ceiling is high, but its disadvantages are high cost and immature technology. Future technologies such as CO₂ heat pumps are still under development, and other solutions are needed to complement them.
Far water cannot quench near thirst. A solution that can quickly replace PTC and reorganize a "good partner" with heat pumps is about to emerge - thick film heating technology.
Thick film heating technology uses rare earth thick film electric heating materials to heat various substrates (stainless steel, alumina, aluminum nitride, glass, ceramics, etc.) through screen printing technology, and realizes the conversion from electrical energy to thermal energy.
The difference in conductive materials and technical principles directly determines the advantages and disadvantages of the innate performance of the two.
More synergistic. Thick film heaters are superior to PTC technology in starting current, ripple voltage and ripple current, and have less impact on the vehicle's electrical system, ensuring the stability and reliability of the vehicle's performance, and maintaining excellent heating effects under various temperature conditions.
More efficient. The thermal efficiency of thick film heaters is 7% higher than that of PTC technology, which not only saves electricity but also significantly improves the range of electric vehicles.
