Improving Cabin Comfort With Smart Auto-Flap HVAC Control

In a country like India with tropical weather, cabin temperature of passenger vehicle (PV) plays a significant role in customer delight. As per our study, 90% of PV users in India prefer to use the recirculation mode in the Heating, ventilation, and Air-conditioning (HVAC) system to safeguard themselves from the elevated levels of pollution outside the vehicle (in-particular PM2.5). Owing to the use of recirculation mode for a prolonged period, the CO₂ level in the cabin is likely to increase causing discomfort to the occupants. Continuous exposure to high concentration of CO₂ (Over 2500 ppm) could result in headache, dizziness, and nausea. In this work, we studied the in-cabin concentration of CO₂ & PM2.5 under different test conditions like city driving, highway, off-road, re-circulation mode, fresh air mode, etc., Based on the results & considering the ideal exposure to in-cabin CO₂ and PM2.5, a HVAC auto-flap mechanism is developed to enhance cabin comfort for the PV users.