Attribute Optimization of Multi-Zone Climate Control System for Indian Applications

Single-zone cabin climate control systems have been standard for decades in passenger cars. Looking at the technology trend, which is transitioning from single-zone to multi-zone automatic control systems, it is now possible to provide zonal comfort tailored to the individual requirements of each passenger. In current single-zone climate control systems, maintaining the cabin temperature as stated by the passenger has been straightforward and can be achieved with slight calibration efforts using the present set of parameters and sensors until now. In this work, a multi-zone climate system highlighting the importance of individual calibration parameters in improving cabin comfort when transitioning from a single-zone to a multi-zone climate control system is proposed. As multi-zone climate systems are based on passenger set temperature requests for individual zonal comfort, appropriate controller fine-tuning is challenging when an input is taken from various sensed parameters, including cabin temperature, solar load, ambient temperature, coolant temperature, evaporator outlet temperature, and air quality. It offers valuable insights into the necessary software calibration corrections to ensure optimum zonal comfort for passengers. It is observed that refinement of key parameters enhances passenger comfort and shortens the time required to achieve comfort conditions during the multi-zone calibration process.