Some companies have evolved their technologies and features to the point that progress has clearly been made. Others appear to have made progress, but in reality did not quite reach that benchmark.
In a previous lifetime as an automotive engineer, I spent a lot of time researching, testing, and developing vehicle heater systems across a broad range of vehicles and manufacturers. It was discouraging work.
It still is, I expect, but recent developments suggest that at least some thought is being given to what has been one of the slowest vehicle systems to achieve any great technical advancement. (The same might be said for windshield wipers, but that’s another story.)
The challenge for heater systems isn’t generating heat — at least, in most conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles will bring new issues, but there is more than enough waste heat from a typical internal combustion engine to adequately warm a passenger compartment in even the coldest Canadian winter conditions. The challenge is getting that heat where it needs to be, when it needs to be there.
More specifically, it is to create that elusive condition known as comfort for all the vehicle’s occupants — a condition, I learned, that varies among races, genders and individuals, as well as being dependent on their clothing, pre-conditioning and even mood, at any given time.
That challenge is magnified by the fact that heater systems are standard equipment and thus subject to pressures to bring them to market at the lowest possible cost. At the same time, they are required to provide windshield and side-window defrosting performance far in excess of the minimum standards set by regulations, just to achieve a minimum level of customer acceptability. And, to accommodate all the parallel needs of an air-conditioning system at higher ambient temperatures. It’s a tough task, and is satisfactorily achieved by few.
I was reminded of these travails by a recent announcement from Volkswagen concerning a new ‘Smart Climate’ menu for the optional “Air Care Climatronic” automatic HVAC system offered on its eighth-generation Golf, now on the market in Europe.
Impressive as these changes sound — and they undoubtedly will be appreciated by customers — they appear to be just interface enhancements to the traditional system.
As an alternative to traditional controls, such as those for fan speeds or air recirculation mode (Classic Climate), the screen features a new Smart Climate menu. To access specific settings in this menu, according to Volkswagen, it is no longer necessary to spend time adjusting different parameters. One can now intuitively activate preconfigured scenarios with a single touch, or via voice control.
The set temperature for the system can be adjusted using either a ‘touchslider’ or voice command, and the driver and passenger can access the menu control via the infotainment system screen or the touch field below with direct access buttons.
Volkswagen says it has identified five frequently used scenarios and transferred them to the Smart Climate menu. The functions are “Clear view” (de-mist windows), “Warm feet” (warmer air to the footwell), “Warm hands” (warmer air via the vents in the instrument panel), “Cool feet” (colder air into the footwell) and “Fresh air” (cool breeze flows through the vehicle interior).
While those would appear to be just different labels for the various HVAC outlet controls, what makes the Smart Climate functions different is that they are only activated temporarily — to briefly enhance current comfort before reverting to the previously active settings of the automatic HVAC system.
It is also said to be easier to change the permanent settings of the individual controls as well, using a touchslider. And the system also responds to voice commands for those operations. New digital microphones recognize whether it is the driver or the passenger speaking. One just has to say “I am cold” or “I am warm” and the system will change the temperature on the appropriate side for each command.
Similarly, saying “make it four degrees warmer” will change the temperature setting by that amount, or “there’s a draft” or “it’s stuffy” to adjust the settings accordingly.
Impressive as these changes sound — and they undoubtedly will be appreciated by customers — they appear to be just interface enhancements to the traditional system. What is still needed to broaden the comfort capabilities of those systems is the ability to fine-tune all the adjustments independently of each other.
For example — to enable cool outside air to flow through the upper-level vents to the driver’s face, while providing maximum heat to the feet at floor level (a boon on cold, but sunny days). Or to permit a fully variable mix of airflow between the defroster outlets and those at lower levels, rather than the step-function progressions that dominate today.
Ironically, those capabilities were inherent in many of the manual, analog controls that predated today’s sophisticated electronic systems. Sometimes one wonders if what passes for progress really is progress.
