Foto: Webasto
There are three new electric high-voltage heaters (HVH) from Webasto with 10 to 12 kilowatts of heating power for electric cars, trucks, buses, construction machinery and special vehicles. The “HVH 100 Compact”, “HVH 100 Compact+” and “HVH 120” heaters are no larger than a sheet of A4 paper and convert direct electric current into heat with virtually no losses (more than 95 percent).
Every electric vehicle needs a heater, as the interior cannot be heated with waste heat from the engine as is the case with fuel-powered vehicles. Electric high-voltage heaters from Webasto not only heat the cabin or passenger compartment, but can also provide optimum temperature control for traction batteries. This has a positive effect on range and service life. The thin heating layer of the high-voltage heaters is directly connected to the heat exchanger on a large contact surface. As a result, the three new HVHs achieve extremely fast heat-up times and very high efficiency. Both the temperature and the heat output are infinitely and precisely adjustable. This means that only the heat that is actually needed is produced. The service life of the high-voltage heaters is between 15,000 and 25,000 heating hours.
Small but powerful
The devices require very little installation space. Measuring 284 x 200 x 72 millimetres, the footprint of the HVH 100 Compact and HVH 100 Compact+ is smaller than a DIN A4 sheet of paper and they are only around 7 centimetres high. The HVH 120 is around 4 centimeters longer. The weight is 2.2 and 2.5 kilograms. No rare earths are used for the high-voltage heaters. The heaters support low voltages of 12 or 24 volts (V) and heat in the high voltage range of 250 to 880 V. Despite their compact size, the power packs deliver 10 and 12 kilowatts (kW) of heating power and are therefore particularly efficient. If the heat requirement for passenger or cargo compartments is greater, several HVHs can be combined. They heat the cabin and keep the batteries in the “comfort zone” between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius. All three heaters are controlled via LIN bus (Local Interconnect Network). The HVH 100 Compact+ and the HVH 120 also support the faster CAN protocol (Controller Area Network), which is commonly used in commercial vehicles.
