Electric radiant heat for EV cabin comfort

New HVAC tech helps Toyota tackle the EV heat-vs.-range conundrum.

Vehicle OEMs have been steadily increasing the range of their electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), but the ranges they claim publicly are in ideal thermal conditions. Now comes the hard part: Deliver those same ratings in real-world weather, in the kind of thermal extremes that challenge the performance of lithium-ion battery packs.

Although air conditioning use in hot summer weather typically causes a modest loss of EV range, it's the 30-40% drop of range in cold winter weather when the cabin heater is deployed that continues to challenge EVs' ability to fully replace ICE-powered vehicles.