Climate System: Overview

Overview




The climate system no longer belongs to the luxury equipment in today's vehicles. Instead it has become a factor for active safety and is now included as part of the vehicle safety equipment.
Lowered passenger compartment temperature gives increase safety.
It is a well-known fact that a person's ability to perform declines in heat. A study, carried out in traffic, in a normal vehicle, showed that when the temperature in the passenger compartment was increased from 21 to 27 °C then:
- the risk of the driver missing important traffic information (warning lamps, traffic signals, signs, etc) increased by 50 %
- the driver's reaction time was extended by 22 %.
With a climate system in the vehicle you travel both more comfortably and safer.
A climate system gives increased comfort through:
- cooling the air with high ambient air temperatures or in hot sunny conditions
- heating the air at low temperatures
- dehumidifying the air
- filtering the air
Relative humidity is extremely important to our well-being. We perceive humidity of 30 - 60 % as comfortable as the moisture given off by the human body can easily be absorbed by the ambient air.
If the humidity exceeds 75 %, we perceive it as oppressive and uncomfortable in hot weather, as the air can not absorb much more moisture. This is a reason why the climate system has been designed to regulate both the temperature and humidity.

Old version:
There are two types of climate control system:
- ECC - Electronic Climate Control
- ETC - Electronic Temperature Control

Dashboard environment panel, ECC




ECC
The climate control system is fully automatic and has the option of manual settings. Using this system, it is possible to set different temperatures on the driver's side and the passenger side.

Dashboard environment panel, ETC




ETC
The climate control system is semi-automatic where the temperature is automatically regulated but the fan speed and damper position are set manually.

ECC and ETC
The climate system consists of heating and cooling systems. These are combined in the distribution housing into a common unit with a common ventilation system to distribute heat and chilled air in the passenger compartment.
The system is an air mixture type, i.e. hot and cold air can be mixed to the required temperature. One advantage of this, is that the temperature in the passenger compartment can be changed quickly if the need arises. Another benefit is that the ECC can quickly compensate when the outdoor conditions change.
The Climate control module (CCM) has the task of managing the control of the climate system and the buttons on the comfort panel. For more information, see Design and Function, Climate control module (CCM).
The climate system also includes a number of sensors and transducers. For more information see Design and Function, Climate control module (CCM).
As an option it is possible to choose an additional heater/parking heater. On some engine variants and markets the additional heater is standard. The parking heater is always an option. When the engine is running, the additional heater can provide extra heat to the passenger compartment (and the engine).
The parking heater can heat the passenger compartment (and the engine) when the engine is not running. This function can be started immediately or with the help of a timer.

New version:
There are two types of climate control system:
- ECC - Electronic Climate Control




The climate control system is fully automatic and has the option of manual settings. Using this system, it is possible to set different temperatures on the driver's side and the passenger side.




The climate control system is semi-automatic where the temperature is automatically regulated but the fan speed and damper position are set manually.