Electric cars are still lagging behind in many areas. Especially when it comes to range. Volvo now wants to solve the latter in an unexpected way.
Volvo may/maybe not have an unexpected way to tackle one of the most controversial challenges of electric cars: range. In any case, there is now a patent application in the development department's drawer.
Volvo's people have developed a solution that will reduce air resistance by using the electric car's own heat. Something that will ultimately make the car more efficient and economical.
According to a patent application submitted to the European Patent Office , Volvo is focusing on heating the car's exterior surfaces using the heating system.
In the application, Volvo explains how the heat is conducted outward to create a layer of heated air around the car. This boundary layer of essentially warm air has a lower density, which reduces air resistance, which is otherwise a significant factor in the energy consumption of electric cars.
The patent states, among other things, that:
– The method comprises causing a vehicle heating system to heat at least a portion of the outer surface of the vehicle. […] Heating a portion of the outer surface of the vehicle has the effect that a boundary layer of fluid, e.g. air, which is located next to the heated outer surface of the vehicle is also heated .
The effectiveness of the method is further emphasized by the engineers behind the patent:
" Since drag is a function of the density of the fluid in the boundary layer, heating the vehicle's outer surface reduces drag. Overall, this method offers a simple and reliable way to reduce air resistance and thereby increase the efficiency of a vehicle ," Volvo Cars writes.
To avoid excessive energy consumption, Volvo mentions that the entire exterior of the car will not be heated. Instead, the focus is on specific parts such as the windshield and rear window.
However, the company does not elaborate on how exactly this will be implemented, nor is there any information on how much of an improvement in range the system could potentially offer.
It is also noted that the technology is unlikely to have an effect in hot weather, where the need for heating the car's exterior will be limited. Although the system's precise usefulness is yet to be determined, Volvo's approach shows how car brands continue to chase increased range.
The Chinese-owned Swedes aren't the only ones with more or less strange patents pending at the patent office. Ferrari, for example, has developed a V6 engine that turns upside down and burns hydrogen. Read more about it here .
