Patent Description:
The invention relates to an electric drive vehicle provided with a thermoregulation system.

A vehicle can be provided with one single electric motor or with several electric motors (in which case, the drive is a full electric drive) or it can be provided with one or more electric motors combined with a combustion engine (in which case, the drive can be a full electric drive, a combustion drive or a hybrid drive).

The electric motor (or each electric motor) is mechanically connected to the drive wheels and is electrically connected to a battery through the interposition of an electronic power converter.

In order to correctly operate and avoid a quick degradation, the battery has to remain at a relatively constant work temperature and, hence, has to be coupled to a thermoregulation system capable of cooling the battery when there is excess heat (even while charging, when the vehicle is parked) and also capable of heating the battery when it is too cold (typically after a cold start). As a matter of fact, the temperature range within which batteries operate in an ideal manner goes from <NUM>° to <NUM>° (lithium batteries, in some use condition, can reach up to <NUM>°, which is anyway considered a limit operating temperature); beyond this range there is the risk for some components of deteriorating and, with an overheating beyond <NUM>°, flammable elements, such as the acids and the solvents making up the electrolytes, are more likely to catch fire, whereas, below the aforesaid temperature range, the battery can be subjected to efficiency drops, which, below zero, translate into a loss of up to <NUM> of the estimated range.

Electric motors and the respective electronic power converters have to be cooled (when necessary) in order to prevent their temperature from exceeding a temperature limit beyond which a quick degradation (if the temperature threshold is exceeded by a small extent and for a short amount of time) or even permanent damages (if the temperature threshold is exceeded by a great extent and for a long amount of time) can occur. Furthermore, electric motors and the respective electronic power converters generally have an energy efficiency that is slightly greater when their inner temperature is lower (since the electrical resistance of conductor metals slightly decreases as the temperature decreases). Therefore, electric motors and the respective electronic power converters must be coupled to a thermoregulation system as well, which is capable of cooling when there is excess heat.

The passenger compartment of the vehicle requires a proper air conditioning for the comfort of the occupants thereof and, hence, the air conditioning system of the passenger compartment has to be coupled to a thermoregulation system, which is capable of cooling when it is hot and is also capable of heating when it is cold.

In a vehicle provided with an internal combustion engine there is a large availability of heat, which can be used to heat all those components that require heating, since the internal combustion engine, during its operation, produces a large quantity of heat at a high temperature (the work temperature of the cooling liquid of the internal combustion engine is of circa <NUM>-<NUM>).

On the other hand, in a full electric drive vehicle, there is a relative small availability of heat, since electric motors and the respective electronic power converters typically operate with an energy efficiency of more than <NUM>% and, hence, develop a small quantity of heat (especially in case of city use). As a consequence, a full electric drive vehicle has to be provided with electric devices for the generation of heat (generally speaking, heating resistances or a heat pump), which can generate heat when it is necessary (basically for the battery and the passenger compartment); however, these electric devices for the generation of heat use part of the power stored in the battery and, hence, when they are used, inevitably reduce the range of the vehicle.

Patent application <CIT> discloses a cooling system of an electric vehicle, wherein a cooling valve is provided, which has a plurality of inputs and outputs, which can be connected to one another with different connection possibilities.

The object of the invention is to provide an electric drive vehicle provided with a thermoregulation system, which ensures a greater range thanks to a higher energy efficiency in the generation of the heat needed for the heating and, at the same time, is easy and economical to be manufactured.

According to the invention, there is provided an electric drive vehicle provided with a thermoregulation system according to the appended claims.

In <FIG>, number <NUM> indicates, as a whole, an electric drive vehicle provided with four drive wheels <NUM> (two front drive wheels <NUM> and two rear drive wheels <NUM>).

The vehicle <NUM> comprises an electric drive system <NUM>, which is arranged in a front position (namely, is connected to the two front drive wheels <NUM>), and an electric drive system <NUM>, which is arranged in a rear position (namely, is connected to the two rear drive wheels <NUM>), is completely identical to the electric drive system <NUM> arranged in a front position from a structural point of view and is completely independent of and separate from the electric drive system <NUM> arranged in a front position from a mechanical point of view.

According to a different embodiment which is not shown herein, the vehicle <NUM> comprises one single electric drive system <NUM> (arranged in a front position or arranged in a rear position) and, therefore, it only has two drive wheels <NUM>; in this embodiment, the vehicle <NUM> could also comprise a combustion drive system connected to the drive wheels <NUM> that do not receive the motion from said single electric drive system <NUM>.

Each electric drive system <NUM> comprises a pair of reversible electric machines <NUM> (i.e. which can work both as eclectic motor, absorbing electrical energy and generating a mechanical torque, and as electric generator, absorbing mechanical energy and generating electrical energy) provided with respective shafts and a pair of drivetrains <NUM>, which connect the electric machines <NUM> (namely, the shafts of the electric machines <NUM>) to the corresponding drive wheels <NUM>.

Each electric machine <NUM> is controlled by a corresponding AC/DC electronic power converter (namely, an "inverter"), which is connected to a battery <NUM>; namely, each DC-AC electronic power converter is a two-way converter and comprises a DC side, which is connected to the battery <NUM>, and a three-phase AC side, which is connected to the corresponding electric machine <NUM>.

The battery <NUM> has a flat and relatively this shape, so that it can be integrated in the floorboard of the vehicle <NUM>. In particular, the battery <NUM> comprises a container <NUM>, which accommodates, on the inside, a plurality of modules provided with respective groups of electrochemical cells with a parallelepiped shape (namely, having a pouch structure or a prismatic structure). The container <NUM> has a lower wall (which constitutes the bottom of the vehicle <NUM> facing the road surface and obviously is horizontally oriented), an upper wall, which is parallel to and opposite the lower wall, a front wall <NUM> facing a front part of the vehicle <NUM> (namely, facing the front of the vehicle <NUM> relative to a travel direction D) and a rear wall <NUM> opposite the front wall <NUM> and facing a rear part of the vehicle <NUM> (namely, facing the back of the vehicle <NUM> relative to the travel direction D).

According to <FIG>, the vehicle <NUM> comprises a passenger compartment <NUM> and an air conditioning system <NUM> to air-condition the passenger compartment <NUM> by introducing conditioned air flows into the passenger compartment <NUM> through a plurality of air vents <NUM>. The air conditioning system <NUM> comprises, among other things, two heat exchangers <NUM> connected to one another in parallel and configured to heat air using a hot fluid (in particular, a mixture of water and glycol, as explained more in detail below).

According to <FIG>, the vehicle <NUM> comprises a thermoregulation system <NUM> configured to adjust the work temperature of the drive systems <NUM>, to adjust the work temperature of the battery <NUM> and to supply (when needed) heat (namely, hot fluid) to the heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a thermoregulation circuit <NUM> configured to have the fluid (namely, the mixture of air and glycol) flow through the two drive systems <NUM>; in particular, the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> has the same fluid flow both through the electric machines <NUM> and through the corresponding electronic power converters.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a thermoregulation circuit <NUM> configured to have the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) flow through the battery <NUM>.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a thermoregulation circuit <NUM> configured to have the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) flow through the two heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM>.

Along the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> there is an electric heater <NUM> (namely, a device using electrical energy to generate heat and, for example, comprising electric heating resistances), which can be operated so as to heat the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a solenoid valve <NUM> (namely, an electrically-mechanically operated valved to be remotely controlled by means of electric pulses), which is movable between an isolation position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> does not flow through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa), and a connection position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> also flows through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa). Namely, when the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, there is no exchange of fluid between the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, whereas, when the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the connection position, there is an exchange of fluid between the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>.

Along the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> there are two radiators <NUM> arranged in series (one mounted on the right side of the vehicle <NUM> and the other mounted on the left side of the vehicle <NUM>), through which the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) located in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> can flow.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a solenoid valve <NUM>, which can be adjusted so as to bypass the radiators <NUM>; namely, by adjusting the solenoid valve <NUM>, the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) located in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> can flow through the radiators <NUM> or through a bypass duct <NUM>, which is arranged in parallel to the radiators <NUM>.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises two solenoid valves <NUM>, which are separate from one another and are movable between an isolation position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> does not flow through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa), and a connection position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> also flows through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa). Namely, when the solenoid valves <NUM> are in the isolation position, there is no exchange of fluid between the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, whereas, when the solenoid valves <NUM> are in the connection position, there is an exchange of fluid between the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>.

The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a heat exchanger <NUM>, which allows heat to be exchanged between the fluid present in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and the fluid present in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>; namely, the heat exchanger <NUM> comprises a side connected to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and another side connected to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>. In use, the heat exchanger <NUM> is used to transfer heat from the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> to the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, namely to heat the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> by using part of the heat owned by the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>. The thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a solenoid valve <NUM>, which is movable between an isolation position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> does not exchange heat with the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (namely, the fluids do not flow through the heat exchanger <NUM>), and a connection position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> exchanges heat with the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (namely, the fluids do not flow through the heat exchanger <NUM>).

According to a different embodiment which is not shown herein, the heat exchanger <NUM> is absent and is replaced by a direct connection between the two thermoregulation circuits <NUM> and <NUM>; in this embodiment, the solenoid valve <NUM> is movable between an isolation position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> does not flow through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa), and a connection position, in which the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> also flows through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (and vice versa).

The vehicle <NUM> comprises a control unit <NUM> (schematically shown in <FIG> and <FIG>), which controls the operation of the thermoregulation system <NUM>. Among other things, the control unit <NUM> is configured, when heat needs to be supplied to the heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM>, to: estimate a total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM> when the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, estimate a total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM> when the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the connection position, and move the solenoid valve <NUM> to the position having the smaller total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM>.

In other words, when heat has to be supplied to the heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM> (namely, when the air conditioning system <NUM> has to heat the passenger compartment <NUM>), the heat requested by the heat exchangers <NUM> can be generated by the electric heater <NUM> and/or can be supplied by the two drive systems <NUM>.

If the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> does not flow to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and, therefore, the heat generated by the two drive systems <NUM> cannot reach the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and, hence, the heat exchangers <NUM>; in this configuration, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> can be caused to flow through the radiators <NUM> (by properly adjusting the solenoid valve <NUM>) so as to disperse heat thereof in the external environment (namely, having it cool down in the radiators <NUM>), thus reducing the inner temperature of the two drive systems <NUM>, hence increasing the energy efficiency of the two drive systems <NUM> (since the electrical resistance of the conductors decreases as the temperature decreases and, hence, the power losses caused by Joule effect decrease in a proportional manner). Namely, if the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, the temperature of the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> can be reduced by having the fluid flow through the two radiators <NUM> so as to (slightly) increase the energy efficiency of the two drive systems <NUM> and, hence, (given the same performances) reduce the electrical energy consumption of the electric drive systems <NUM>. On the other hand, if the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, all the heat requested by the heat exchangers <NUM> must be generated by the sole electric heater <NUM>, which, hence, will have higher power consumptions.

If the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the connection position, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> flows to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and, hence, the heat generated by the two drive systems <NUM> reaches the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and, therefore, the heat exchangers <NUM>; in this configuration, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> is not normally caused to flow through the radiators <NUM> (by properly adjusting the solenoid valve <NUM>) so as not to disperse the heat thereof in the external environment, since said heat has to be released to the heat exchangers <NUM> instead of being dispersed in the external environment. As a consequence, if the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the isolation position, all the heat (or at least part of the heat) requested by the heat exchangers <NUM> comes from the electric drive systems <NUM> and, therefore, the electric heater <NUM> has to generate less heat (or can remain completely turned off), thus featuring smaller power consumptions. On the other hand, if the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the connection position, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> is hotter (because it has to release heat to the heat exchangers <NUM> and, hence, cannot be cooled in the radiators <NUM>) and, therefore, the two drive systems <NUM> also operate at a higher temperature with a (slightly) smaller energy efficiency; namely, the two drive systems <NUM> (given the same performances) have a higher power consumption.

The control unit <NUM> is configured, when heat has to be supplied to the heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM>, to establish whether, from the point of view of the total energy consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM>, the solenoid valve <NUM> should be arranged in the isolation position (in which the heat produced by the two drive systems <NUM> is dispersed in the external environment and does not help supply heat the heat exchangers <NUM>) or whether the solenoid valve <NUM> should be arranged in the connection position (in which the heat produced by the two drive systems <NUM> is used to supply heat to the heat exchangers <NUM>). The control unit <NUM> basically finds the most efficient compromise, from an energy point of view, between two opposing needs: keeping the temperature of the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> low in order to minimize the work temperature of the two drive systems <NUM> (thus increasing the energy efficiency of the two drive systems <NUM>) and keeping the temperature of the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> high so as to transfer heat from the two drive systems <NUM> to the heat exchangers <NUM>.

Owing to the above, it is evident that the control unit <NUM> is configured to control the solenoid valve <NUM> so as to bypass the radiators <NUM> when the solenoid valve <NUM> is in the connection position, so as not to cool, in the radiators <NUM>, the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, so that the heat of said fluid can be used to heat the two heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM>. To this regard, it should be pointed out that heat must be supplied to the two heat exchangers <NUM> of the air conditioning system <NUM> only when the outside temperature is low and, when the outside temperature is low, the radiators <NUM> do not necessarily have to be used to cool the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (i.e. the fluid flowing through the two drive systems <NUM>).

According to a preferred embodiment, each electric drive system <NUM> (namely, a controller of each electric drive system <NUM>) is configured to cyclically provide the control unit <NUM> with its own power consumption in both positions of the solenoid valve <NUM>; the power consumption of each electric drive system <NUM> in the current position of the solenoid valve <NUM> is an actual consumption, since it has actually been consumed, whereas the other power consumption of each electric drive system <NUM> in the other position (other than the current position) of the solenoid valve <NUM> is an estimated consumption, since the electric drive systems <NUM> are not currently working in this condition. Similarly, the electric heater <NUM> (namely, a controller of the electric heater <NUM>) is configured to provide the control unit <NUM> with its own power consumption in both positions of the solenoid valve <NUM>; the power consumption of the electric heater <NUM> in the current position of the solenoid valve <NUM> is an actual consumption, since it has actually been consumed, whereas the other power consumption of the electric heater <NUM> in the other position (other than the current position) of the solenoid valve <NUM> is an estimated consumption, since the electric heater <NUM> is not currently working in this condition.

From another point of view (which, as a matter of fact, is perfectly equivalent), each electric drive system <NUM> (namely, e controller of each electric drive system <NUM>) is configured to provide the control unit <NUM> with its own current power consumption and with a variation in its own power consumption in case of a change in the position of the solenoid valve <NUM>, Similarly, the electric heater <NUM> (namely, a controller of the electric heater <NUM>) is configured to provide the control unit <NUM> with its own current power consumption and with a variation in its own power consumption in case of a change in the position of the solenoid valve <NUM>.

In other words, each electric drive system <NUM> (namely, e controller of each electric drive system <NUM>) is configured to provide the control unit <NUM> with its own current power consumption and how much its power consumption could be in the least favourable thermal conditions (which, if necessary, cab be obtained by changing the position of the solenoid valve <NUM>). Similarly, the electric heater <NUM> (namely, a controller of the electric heater <NUM>) is configured to provide the control unit <NUM> with its own current power consumption and how much its power consumption could be in the least favourable thermal conditions (which, if necessary, cab be obtained by changing the position of the solenoid valve <NUM>).

The control unit <NUM> uses the power consumption information received from the electric drive systems <NUM> and from the electric heater <NUM> to determine in which position of the solenoid valve <NUM> it is possible to minimize the total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM> (by minimizing the total power consumption it is obviously possible to maximize the range of the vehicle <NUM>). In other words, by using this information, an optimization algorithm implemented in the control unit <NUM> establishes the minimum condition (i.e. the ideal condition) of the total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM>.

It should be pointed out that the search for the ideal condition (i.e. for the minimum condition of the total power consumption of the electric drive system <NUM> and of the electric heater <NUM>) also takes into account the choices made by the driver of the vehicle <NUM>, who has to choose whether to prefer a comfort driving mode (which does not jeopardize in any way the effectiveness of the air conditioning system <NUM>) or an energy-saving driving mode (which jeopardizes the effectiveness of the air conditioning system <NUM>, if it can be useful to reduce the total power consumption). According to <FIG>, the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises two pumps <NUM>, which are operated by respective electric motors in order to have the fluid flow along the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>; preferably, one pump <NUM> is arranged in a front position close to the front drive system <NUM>, whereas the other pump <NUM> is arranged in a rear position close to the rear drive system <NUM>. The thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises one single pump <NUM>, which is operated by a respective electric motor in order to have the fluid flow along the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>. The thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises one single pump <NUM>, which is operated by a respective electric motor in order to have the fluid flow along the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>.

According to <FIG>, the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises two twin heat exchangers <NUM>, which are connected to one another in parallel and allow heat to be exchanged between the fluid present in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and a refrigeration circuit, which is activated when the battery <NUM> has to be cooled; namely, each heat exchanger <NUM> comprises a side connected to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> and another side connected to the refrigeration circuit. In use, each heat exchanger <NUM> is used to transfer heat from the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> to the fluid flowing in the refrigeration circuit, namely to cool the fluid flowing in the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> by releasing part of the heat to the fluid flowing in the refrigeration circuit.

According to a preferred embodiment, the control unit <NUM> is configured to move the solenoid valve <NUM> to the isolation position when the electric heater <NUM> is turned off and is configured to move the solenoid valve <NUM> to the connection position and to turn the electric heater <NUM> on so as to heat the battery <NUM> using at least part of the eat produced by the electric heater <NUM> (obviously, when the heat supplied by the two drive systems <NUM> is not enough the heat the battery <NUM>).

According to <FIG>, the thermoregulation system <NUM> comprises a thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, which represents an extension (appendage) of the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, is configured to have the fluid (namely, the mixture of water and glycol) flow through the components <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> of the vehicle <NUM> located in a rear area of the vehicle <NUM> and is of the type disclosed in patent application <CIT>. According to a preferred embodiment, the component <NUM> consists of an on-board charger for the battery <NUM>, the component <NUM> consists of a DC/DC converter powering lowvoltage utilities of the vehicle <NUM> and the component <NUM> consist of a hydraulic circuit used by an electronically controlled active suspension system. The components <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are all arranged in a rear position behind the rear wall <NUM> of the battery <NUM> (namely, of the container <NUM>) and, hence, are arranged in an opposite position relative to the rest of the thermoregulation system <NUM> (which is at the front). It should be pointed out that the components <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> must be cooled when their inner temperature is high, but they never have to be heated since they do not have a minimum use temperature beyond which their performances are degraded (taking into account those climates where the vehicle <NUM> can reasonably be used).

The battery <NUM> has a connection to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, which is arranged in a front position (namely, in the area of the front wall <NUM> of the container <NUM> of the battery <NUM>) and a connection to the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>, which is arranged in a rear position (namely, in the area of the rear wall <NUM> of the container <NUM> of the battery <NUM>). Part of the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> flows through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> (namely, the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> "drains" part of the fluid flowing through the thermoregulation circuit <NUM>) and the connection between the two thermoregulation circuits <NUM> and <NUM> is made through the battery <NUM>, which serves as hydraulic connection element. Namely, the thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises a retrieving point, which goes through the rear wall <NUM> of the battery <NUM> (namely, of the container <NUM>) and retrieves the fluid from the battery <NUM>, and comprises a restoring point, which goes through the rear wall <NUM> of the battery <NUM> (namely, of the container <NUM>) and returns the thermoregulation liquid to the battery <NUM>.

The thermoregulation circuit <NUM> comprises a circulation pump <NUM> and a heat exchanger <NUM> to cool a fluid of the hydraulic circuit of the suspensions (the modulation of the exchange in the heat exchanger <NUM> is carried out by adjusting the flow rates of the suspension circuit).

The vehicle <NUM> described above has numerous advantages.

First of all, the thermoregulation system <NUM> of the vehicle <NUM> described above has, in all operating conditions, a high energy efficiency in the generation of the heat needed for the heating of the passenger compartment <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A vehicle (<NUM>) comprising:
at least one electric drive system (<NUM>);
a battery (<NUM>);
a passenger compartment (<NUM>);
an air conditioning system (<NUM>) to air-condition the passenger compartment (<NUM>) and provided with at least one heat exchanger (<NUM>) configured to heat air using a hot fluid;
a first thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) configured to have the fluid flow through the drive system (<NUM>);
a second thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) configured to have the fluid flow through the battery (<NUM>);
a third thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) configured to have the fluid flow through the heat exchanger (<NUM>) of the air conditioning system (<NUM>);
an electric heater (<NUM>), which is arranged along the third thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) and can be operated in order to heat the fluid flowing in the third thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>);
at least one first solenoid valve (<NUM>) movable between an isolation position, in which the fluid flowing through the first thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) does not flow through the third thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>), and a connection position, in which the fluid flowing through the first thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>) also flows through the third thermoregulation circuit (<NUM>);
the vehicle (<NUM>) is characterized in that it comprises a control unit (<NUM>) configured, when heat needs to be supplied to the heat exchanger (<NUM>) of the air conditioning system (<NUM>), to:
estimate a total power consumption of the electric drive system (<NUM>) and of the electric heater (<NUM>) when the first solenoid valve (<NUM>) is in the isolation position;
estimate a total power consumption of the electric drive system (<NUM>) and of the electric heater (<NUM>) when the first solenoid valve (<NUM>) is in the connection position; and
move the first solenoid valve (<NUM>) to the position having the smaller total power consumption of the electric drive system (<NUM>) and of the electric heater (<NUM>).