A method for regulating comfort in a passenger compartment of a vehicle, the passenger compartment including a seat, a radiant panel, and a heating device for the seat; the method being implemented by a controller having a memory containing a pre-established map. The method includes the following steps: acquiring a data item that is characteristic of the state of the passenger compartment, the characteristic data item including the temperature of the passenger compartment; determining, from the map, an optimal comfort level as a function of the characteristic data item; reading, in the map, regulation values associated with the optimal comfort level, the regulation values including values representative of the operating power of the radiant panel and of the heating device for the seat; and transmitting the read regulation values to the radiant panel and to the heating device.

A method for controlling heating of a hybrid vehicle is provided. The vehicle includes a duct flowing air into the indoor of the hybrid vehicle from the outside, a heater core for circulating the coolant heated from an engine inside the duct, a PTC heater heated by the power supplied from a high-voltage battery of the hybrid vehicle inside the duct, and a controller. The controller operates the engine and the PTC heater and heats the air flowing into the indoor of the hybrid vehicle through the duct. The voltage supplied to the PTC heater from a low voltage DC-DC converter (LDC) is changed based on the state of the engine and an auxiliary battery for supplying power to an electric component of the vehicle to apply power to the PTC heater.

An air conditioner for a vehicle includes an air conditioning case having a first air passageway and a second air passageway partitioned by a separator therein; a PTC heater disposed in each of the first air passageway and the second air passageway to generate heat by electric energy; and a control unit for controlling operation of the PTC heater. The control unit individually controls discharge temperature of the first air passageway and discharge temperature of the second air passageway of the PTC heater, and if target discharge temperature of the first air passageway and target discharge temperature of the second air passageway are different from each other, the control unit calculates and outputs a compensation value for the PTC heater output of at least one of the first air passageway and the second air passageway. The PTC heater therefore has a reduced output when controlling for dual temperatures.

A method of controlling a temperature altering element within a seating assembly of a vehicle comprising: presenting a vehicle including a seating assembly including a temperature altering element, a controller in communication with the temperature altering element, the controller including a Pre-established Predictive Activation Model setting forth rules governing the activation of the temperature altering element as a function of data relating to Certain Identifiable Conditions, and a user interface configured to allow the temperature altering element to be manually activated or deactivated; occupying the seating assembly with a first occupant; collecting data relating to the Certain Identifiable Conditions while the first occupant is occupying the seating assembly; determining, by comparing the collected data to the rules of the Pre-established Predictive Activation Model, whether the collected data satisfies the rules of the Pre-established Predictive Activation Model so as to activate the temperature altering element; and activating the temperature altering element.

Examples of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for providing cooling and/or heating in a vehicle. For example, the systems and methods may cool and/or heat a vehicle cabin while the vehicle’s engine is not idling or otherwise in operation, without consuming excessive power stored by a vehicle battery. In example implementations, thermoelectric cooling cells may be used.

Disclosed therein are a heat pump system for a vehicle and a method of controlling the heat pump system, which determines that frosting begins on an exterior heat exchanger and carries out a defrosting control if a difference value between outdoor temperature and refrigerant temperature of an outlet side of the exterior heat exchanger is above a frosting decision temperature in a heat pump mode, thereby increasing frost-prevention and defrosting effects and enhancing heating performance and stability of the system because the system recognizes the beginning of frosting on the exterior heat exchanger at a proper time so as to carry out the defrosting control.

A computer includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to receive first input to sanitize a vehicle passenger cabin via a passenger cabin heater, output one or more candidate initiation times at which to begin actuation of the heater, and, then, actuate the heater to a temperature above a specified sanitization threshold according to the initiation time identified in a second input.

A computer includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to heat a passenger cabin of a vehicle and to actuate a vehicle security subsystem to prevent entry into the vehicle upon initiation of a cabin sanitizing operation, wherein the sanitizing operation includes actuating a heater to heat the passenger cabin above a temperature threshold.

A method of controlling the refrigerant pressure in an ambient heat exchanger of a refrigerant circuit, particularly a heat pump circuit, for vehicles, in which the current temperature and the current humidity of the ambient air is measured, the current dew point temperature of the ambient air is determined from the measured temperature and humidity, and if the ambient air temperature is below 0° C. the refrigerant pressure in the refrigerant circuit is controlled by adjusting the rotational speed of a refrigerant compressor of the refrigerant circuit, the flow cross-section of a controllable expansion element of the refrigerant circuit and/or the ambient air volume flow flowing around or through the ambient heat exchanger, such that the temperature of the ambient heat exchanger is greater than the dew point temperature.

A method for climate control, in which an overall mass flow of air is guided through an auxiliary heater, which has multiple zones. The overall mass flow is divided after flowing through the auxiliary heater into multiple partial mass flows, and an nth partial mass flow respectively flows out of an nth zone. A value of at least one flow parameter of an nth partial mass flow is ascertained, and at least one manipulated variable of a respective nth zone is set in dependence on the value of the at least one flow parameter. Overheating of at least one zone of the auxiliary heater is avoided.