A heater device includes: a distance specifying portion that specifies a distance between a sensing subject, i.e., an occupant and a heater main body as a sensed distance; and a moving mechanism that moves the heater main body. The heater device further includes a heater position control portion that controls the moving mechanism such that the distance between the sensing subject, i.e., the occupant and the heater main body is adjusted to a target distance based on the sensed distance, which is specified by the distance specifying portion.

A method and device for mitigating environmental-control load for a hybrid vehicle are disclosed. In operation, a determination is made as to whether a hybrid vehicle is at a high-power operational mode. When the hybrid vehicle is at a high-power operational mode, a determination of an estimated time-of-travel to a low-power operational mode is made based on vehicle trajectory plan data. Heat-load buffer data is generated based on the estimated time to prolong a passenger comfort setting during the low-power operational mode.

The invention relates to a method for operating a climate-control system (12) for a vehicle (10). According to the invention, total energy efficiencies are determined for a group of operating strategies for the air-conditioning system (12) and an operating strategy with the greatest total efficiency that fulfills the heating output requirement (44) that has been determined, is selected.

A heating system for a vehicle includes: a heater for non-contact heating that emits radiation heat by heat supplied from its heat generating part, which generates heat upon energization, to give warmth to an occupant in a state where a body of the occupant is not in contact with the heater; a heater for contact heating that generates heat upon energization to give warmth to the occupant in a state where the body of the occupant is in contact with the heater; and a control device that controls operations of the heater for contact heating and the heater for non-contact heating. The control device adjusts a heating output provided by the heater for contact heating and a heating output provided by the heater for non-contact heating, and controls the operations. Therefore, the occupant can enjoy a sense of heating that is not stereotypical, and achieve energy saving.

A vehicle air-conditioning apparatus includes: a hot water heater core provided in a hot water circuit in which cooling water circulates in a heat source to recover waste heat of the heat source, and configured to exchange heat between the cooling water heated by the waste heat of the heat source and air to heat the air, thereby heating an inside of a vehicle by using the heated air; a heat pump configured to exchange heat between a refrigerant discharged from a refrigerant compressor and air by using an indoor heat exchanger to heat the air, thereby heating the inside of the vehicle by using the heated air; an electric heater configured to heat air to heat the inside of the vehicle; and a controller configured to select at least one of the hot water heater core, the heat pump and the electric heater to perform a heating operation.

There is disclosed an air conditioning device of a so-called heat pump system which efficiently and comfortably heats a vehicle interior. In a vehicle air conditioning device 1, a controller executes a heating mode in which a refrigerant discharged from a compressor 2 radiates heat in a radiator 4 and the refrigerant by which heat has been radiated is decompressed and then absorbs heat in an outdoor heat exchanger 7. The vehicle air conditioning device includes a heating medium circulating circuit 23 to heat air to be supplied from an air flow passage 3 into the vehicle interior, and the controller executes the heating by a heating medium-air heat exchanger 40 of the heating medium circulating circuit 23, when a heating capability by the radiator 4 runs short.

A method for digitally controlling a heating arrangement may include receiving a temperature value with a control device, the temperature value reflecting a current outside temperature. The method may also include determining via the control device, based on the received temperature value, a limit output of the heating arrangement that is smaller than a maximum output of the heating arrangement. The method may further include dividing the determined limit output into a plurality of output stages via the control device, a number of the plurality of output stages corresponding to a digital resolution of the control device. The method may additionally include controlling the heating arrangement between a minimum output and the limit output to one of the plurality of output stages.

The present invention relates to an electric heater apparatus including a switch control part for controlling a switching part according to a control command of an air-conditioner controlling part; the switching part switched according to a switching control signal of the switch control part for supplying electric power of the power supply part from a heating part; and the heating part for receiving the electric power of the switching part and generating heat, wherein the switching part includes a plurality of switching modules set to control an output load of the heating part, and the switch control part operates one or more switching modules in serial order according to a target heating temperature.

A microclimate system for a vehicle occupant includes multiple microclimate thermal effectors. Each of the microclimate thermal effectors has a corresponding thermal effector controller and is configured to at least partially control an occupant thermal comfort. Each of the microclimate thermal effectors includes at least one sensor configured to determine a microclimate parameter corresponding to at least one microclimate thermal effector of the multiple microclimate thermal effectors. A microclimate system controller is in communication with a plurality of thermal effector controllers. An optimizer is configured to apply a corresponding weighting value from a plurality of weighting values to each thermal effector controller in the plurality microclimate thermal effectors.

A heating apparatus for a vehicle includes an air heating unit configured to heat air conditioning air to be sent into a vehicle cabin, a contact heating unit configured to heat a member that is in contact with a body of an occupant in the vehicle cabin, and an electronic control unit. A heat source of the air heating unit and a heat source of the contact heating unit each are supplied with an electric power from one or more batteries. The electronic control unit is configured to decrease an electric power that is supplied to the heat source of the air heating unit when the heat source of the contact heating unit is on as compared to an electric power that is supplied to the heat source of the air heating unit when the heat source of the contact heating unit is off.