6 Thermal Management for Automobiles Visteon Automotive Systems, the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, and Berkeley Lab's Engineering Division are collaborating on a research project to create the world's first thermally insulated car. With EETD-developed insulation inside body panels and insulated window units, the thermally insulated car will have better gas mileage than a conventional car and stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This is the first time a car manufacturer is studying thermal insulation for passenger comfort. Adding insulation to the car allows its heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system to be smaller, reducing the car's weight and improving mileage.
Insulation can also extend the range of electric vehicles by reducing the load on their batteries.
The insulation and window film reduce heat gain or loss, smoothing out the temperature peaks and troughs inside the car, keeping it comfortably cooler or warmer, and reducing material degradation caused by ultraviolet light. Project researchers are collaborating with Visteon. In February, Visteon sent the Berkeley Lab research team a factory-new white Taurus. The car was stripped down to sheet metal within two hours by a technician. The windshield was modified by applying a spectrally selective solar-control film to the inner surface.