Car Heating System

In addition to air conditioning which is used to cool the cabin air in a vehicle, most modern day vehicles are also equipped with a heating system to warm up the cabin during winters. The heating system uses the heat of the engine to warm up the cabin air. There is a heater core which acts as a heat exchanger and is built inside the vehicle HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning). 

The heater core in itself is a small radiator which is connected to the engine cooling system. A liquid coolant is used in the engine cooling system which is circulated through the engine and main radiator through a pump. The purpose of coolant is to absorb excess heat from the engine. The heated coolant travels through the radiator where ambient air flow absorbs the heat from the coolant. This cycle repeats. 

When a car's heating system is activated, the super hot coolant is made to run through the heater core. A blower motor/fan blows air on the heater core which absorbs the heat from the coolant. As a result, the air gets warm and this air is circulated inside the cabin through vents. 

Depending on the amount of heat required in the cabin, occupants can choose how much warm air is required. A heater control valve is used in the heater core to vary the flow of hot coolant. But most of the HVAC system use a temperature blend door to control the amount of hot air that has to flow through the vents. The working of temperature blend door is simple. The more the door is open, the more amount of air passes through the heater core and hence the air is warmer.

If the cabin air is not warming enough according to the requirement, then the amount of coolant needs to be checked in overflow bottle and if it is low then it should be topped up. If the heating system does not work efficiently, then it means there is some problem in the engine cooling system and it can damage the engine. 

How does Car AC work?

Air conditioning (AC) in cars used to be a luxury during the 1960s, but it has become a necessity in modern day cars. A vehicle's air conditioner doesn't actually cool the air. It just removes the heat and moisture out of the air present within the vehicle. The car AC works on two cycles: refrigeration and evaporative cooling.

Car AC works on the same principle as the home/office ACs. It has five main components:

1. Compressor
2. Condenser
3. Receiver dryer
4. Expansion valve
5. Evaporator coil

The freon/refrigerant is used in AC system. The refrigerant is circulated through the entire system in closed circuit.

Compressor:

As the name suggests, compressor is used to compress the refrigerant to high pressure and temperature. In home ACs, compressor is run through electric motor. In cars, the compressor is driven by a belt connected to the engine crankshaft. A magnetic clutch is used to engage/disengage the compressor to the belt. Once compressed, the gaseous refrigerant is pushed out through discharge valve to the condenser.  

  

Condenser:

Condenser acts as a radiator to remove the heat from the refrigerant. Condenser sits in front of the car, just behind the front grille and in front of the car radiator. Ambient air passes through the condenser and removes the heat from the refrigerant. The high pressure gaseous refrigerant is converted into high pressure liquefied refrigerant.

Receiver Dryer:

The purpose of dryer is to remove the impurities and moisture from the liquefied refrigerant. It can also be used as a temporary storage tank for liquefied refrigerant.

Expansion Valve:

Expansion valve is used to control the amount of refrigerant entering the evaporator. It has a small hole which lets the valve to spray the refrigerant. As the high pressure refrigerant passes into the expansion valve, both pressure and temperature drop and it is sprayed into the evaporator in a misty form.

Evaporator:

Evaporator acts like a radiator. The low pressure, low temperature refrigerant in gaseous form passes through the coils inside the evaporator. A blower fan pulls the heat out from inside the vehicle cabin and blows the warm air over the evaporator. Since the temperature inside the evaporator is lower, it absorbs the heat from the blower and leaves behind cooler air. This cooled air is circulated into the car cabin. The refrigerant which is hot now and in gaseous form is circulated back to the compressor and the cycle keeps repeating.

Blower

Refrigerant:

Freon-R12 was used commonly but due to its damaging effects on the ozone layer, manufacturers have replaced it with R-134a. 

Car Sales Plunge to Zero in April 2020

As India announced nationwide lockdown from 24th March 2020 and with the restrictions covering the entire month of April, grim reports for automobile manufactures came out as zero sales were recorded in the month of April due to the closure of showrooms and manufacturing facilities. Big companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Mahindra registered zero domestic sales.

Thanks to the resumption of port operations, Maruti Suzuki was able to export 632 units abroad. The export numbers for Hyundai and Mahindra stood at 1341 and 733 units respectively for the month of April.

However, Mahindra and Mahindra did witness some tractor sales because dealers were open partially in the last month. It recorded 4716 tractor sales in India, down by 83% as against 27,495 units sold in April 2019. Mahindra's farm equipment sector exported 56 tractors last month, down by 95% compared to 1057 units exported in the same month last year.

S.No.	Manufactures	April 2020	April 2019
1	Maruti Suzuki	0	1,31,385
2	Hyundai	0	42,005
3	Mahindra and Mahindra	0	18,901
4	Toyota	0	10,112
5	Ford	0	6,515
6	Volkswagen	0	1,995
7	Honda	0	11,272
8	Tata	0	12,695
9	Renault	0	6,256
10	Nissan	0	2,027
11	Skoda	0	1,126

With lockdown extended till May 17, there is little to no hope of reviving the automobile sector in the coming months. Due to low earnings, demand especially among the middle income customers might fall sharply. Government can intervene by reducing GST for some months.  

BS 6 vs BS 4 Emission Norms Comparison

Most of us would have seen cars coming out in 2020 with 'BS 6' label on it. What does it actually mean? To explain it in a common man's terms, it means the emission laws imposed on a vehicle to regulate the pollution levels due to the burning of fossil fuels.

The government of India has put forth pollution regulations known as Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES). It mandates all the vehicle manufacturers (two and four wheeler) to manufacture vehicles based on the emission standards set by the government. From April 1, 2020 all the vehicles manufactured, sold and registered in India should comply with the BS 6 (Bharat Stage 6) emission standards.

This article is about the differences between the old standard BS 4 and the upcoming emission norms BS 6.

The BSES introduced the first emission norms in India in the year 2000 with the name 'India 2000', which can also be considered as BS 1. Five years down the line, BS 2 was introduced in 2005, followed by BS 3 in 2010 and BS 4 in 2017 with stricter emission norms. BS 5 has been skipped to achieve the climate control goals set for India in the Paris Climate Accord in 2016.

All the BS norms are in line with the Euro norms that is followed in European countries.

Petrol engine:

Norms	NOx (mg/km)	PM (mg/km)	CO (mg/km)	HC (mg/km)
BS4	80	-	1000	100
BS6	60	-	1000	100

Diesel engine:

Norms	NOx (mg/km)	PM (mg/km)	CO (mg/km)	HC+ NOx (mg/km)
BS4	250	25	500	300
BS6	80	4.5	500	170

NOx - Nitrogen oxide
PM- particulate matters
CO- carbon monoxide
HC- hydrocarbons
mg/km- milligram per kilometer

Automatic Headlamp On (AHO):

One of the notable changes in BS 6 is automatic headlamps on feature which is enabled in two wheelers to keep the headlights on all the time to ensure pedestrian safety.

Exit Warning System

Exit warning system warns the occupants in a car of the vehicles approaching from behind as they open the doors of their car. This system scans the area behind the parked vehicle and keeps the doors locked unless the coast is clear to protect other passing vehicles.

Audi had first introduced this feature in it's A4 and Q7 models in 2015. It would only alert the driver of any approaching vehicles through warning lights. In 2018, Audi upgraded the technology by physically blocking the doors until the approaching vehicle passes by. It doesn't lock the door forever but for a mere 0.8 seconds which should be enough for a vehicle to pass by. It was installed in A8 model.

Mercedes GLA 2020

Mercedes Benz is set to launch the all new GLA-class in the compact luxury SUV segment. It is expected to hit the Indian market in June 2020. It will have petrol and diesel engines complying to BS6 norms. The prices are expected to start at 43 lakhs INR. The good news for the customers is that bookings are open and preorders can fetch a discount of 1 lakh INR.

There are minor changes in the overall design which doesn't much change the looks compared to it's predecessor. The wheelbase has been increased and the overhangs have been shortened to provide more interior space. It will be 30 mm wider. 104 mm has been added to it's height and 15 mm reduced in length. Despite the reduction in length, legroom won't be affected as the wheelbase has been increased.

Mercedes has added some new safety features:

• Sensors to detect pedestrians around the car to alert the driver.
• Exit warning system to keep the doors of the car locked unless the lane besides the vehicle is clear and no vehicles or cyclists are approaching the car.
• Active Break assist system to automatically apply brakes in the event of an impending collision.

When launched the GLA-class will give competition to the BMW X1, Volvo XC40 and Audi Q3.

Engine specs:

GLA 200 will come with a 1.3 liter turbocharged petrol engine capable of producing 161 hp and 250 Nm torque. It will be coupled with 7 speed dial cluth transmission.

GLA 35 4MATIC AMG will come with a 2 liter turbocharged petrol engine churning out a power of 302 hp and 400 NM torque. It will come with an AMG speedshift 8 speed dual clutch transmission.

Electric cars better than fossil fuel cars?

Rising population, better road infrastructure, increasing rail, air and water connectivity and who knows

so many reasons, but more and more people are traveling around the world. The transportation sector

is contributing to almost a quarter of the total greenhouse gas emissions around the globe. One may

argue that shifting to all electric vehicles can reduce the impact on climate change, if not solve it.

According to the Paris climate agreement of 2016, the target is to run 100 million electric vehicles

(EVs) on the road by 2030. As of 2017, it is around 3.1 million EVs.

How much clean is an Electric Vehicle?

A car that runs completely on electricity does not produce any emissions per se, but the source from

which electricity is produced can contribute to emissions. Electricity produced from renewable sources

such as wind and sun virtually produces no emissions. But those produced from coal, oil and natural

gas does contribute a significant amount of pollutants.

Increase in number of EVs will result in increased demand of electricity which in turn will lead to

higher demand for oil. This may result in higher emissions.

To reduce the pollution levels from electrification, stricter policies have to be implemented. Investment

in renewable sources of energy is the need of the hour.

China leading the way:

The share of renewable sources for electricity production has increased significantly over the past few

years. China is leading the way in renewable energy. It is the world’s largest producer and exporter of

solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles.

In 2017, China’s renewable energy comprised 36.6% of its total installed electric power capacity, and

26.4% of its total power generation. The vast majority of its renewable sources is hydroelectric.

China is also the number one market for electric vehicles. The sales surged by 72% in 2017, pushing

their total ownership to over 1 million EVs. The country is also driving the growth in bus and two-

wheeler sector, holdin 99% of the world’s total stock.

Electric vehicles future in India:

India has been pushing to make plans for a major shift towards electric vehicles by 2030. Being a

member of Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI), India plans to have EVs contribute to 30% of all vehicle

sales by 2030.

Looking at the ground reality, the plan seems to have a lot of dead ends which will hinder India’s goal

of achieving the target.

70% of India’s electricity production comes from coal. Coal being the main source of power, increase

in EVs will result in need for more coal to reach the power demand. This will dent India’s goal to cut

the emissions.

India is on its way to roll out BS-VI emission norms in 2020. Vehicle manufacturers will be recalibrating

vehicles to meet the norms and hence they will be left with lesser investment for EVs.

High cost of EVs and poor public charging infrastructure makes it less appealing to the already

reluctant customers to buy EVs.

Unless the government comes with a better policy to improve the infrastructure and to provide

incentives to the EV manufacturers with low taxes and other benefits, it is difficult to provide an

affordable range of EVs to Indian customers. Investment in renewable sources of energy will also

help in cutting the emissions.