Objective climate comfort evaluation in vehicles using Dressman 3.2

On a cold winter’s day at 0°C, the range of an electric vehicle in urban traffic can halve compared to when the outside temperature is 20°C. It takes significantly more energy to heat or cool the entire vehicle cabin than it does to just control the climate for the occupants. The use of measures close to the body, such as seat or steering wheel heating, are thus on the increase. However, the effectiveness of such measures on thermal comfort can barely be measured using existing methods that measure single points in the vehicle cabin. To further develop climate control in vehicles, a measuring system is called for which can capture both cooling and heating effects both in time and space. Only by using suitable measurement techniques can the effectiveness of vehicle climate control measures and the required duration of the measures on specific areas of the body be assessed and ultimately sound information about thermal comfort be obtained. The measurement system must also be quick and easy to use in practice and must be able to be integrated into a vehicle’s CAN bus system.