Modelling cabin thermal comfort
Why 22 °C doesn't feel the same to everyone, and how systems compensate.
You'll learn
- Explain modelling cabin thermal comfort at engineering level
- Read the numbers that define the behaviour
- Apply the idea to a real vehicle
Overview
Air temperature alone is a poor predictor of comfort. Radiant heat from the sun, air movement and humidity all change how a given temperature feels.
In depth
Thermal simulator
Cabin thermal simulator
Adjust ambient conditions, sun load and airflow to see how they combine into perceived comfort.
Ambient25 °C
Coolant flow60 %
Radiator capacity70 %
Duty cycle70 %
Heat generated
2.2kW
Coolant temperature
62°C
Battery temperature
67°C
Motor temperature
89°C
Pump + fan draw
0.75kW
Thermal state
Nominal
Motor89 °C
Battery67 °C
Coolant62 °C
Rejected heat scales with the temperature difference to ambient. On a hot day the same radiator sheds far less power, which is why sustained performance drops in summer.
Quiz
Cabin comfort check
- 1
Air temperature alone is generally sufficient to model cabin comfort.
- 2
What does defrost mode force on, regardless of outside temperature?
Key takeaways
Remember this
- Perceived comfort depends on radiant heat and airflow, not just air temperature.
- Sun-load sensors let the system compensate for radiant heating.
- Comfort modelling directly informs how much energy climate control spends.
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