Air conditioning for commercial vehicles
With its new air conditioning concept, MAHLE demonstrates that it’s possible to make standstill air conditioning powerful, engine-independent, and thus very quiet. With ever stricter legislation, this is more and more important, as the task of interior air conditioning can no longer be taken over by the truck’s running combustion engine during rest periods.
Air conditioning systems and their components
HVAC modules
Our HVAC modules are tailor-made to the specifications of vehicle manufacturers. Continuous improvements in efficiency, reductions in weight and pressure loss, as well as the further optimization of acoustics are among our key development objectives. Standardized components and design features help us to economically develop and produce robust and high-performance HVAC modules.
Evaporators
Our flat tube evaporators deliver high performance in spite of their compact and lightweight design. Our patented BehrOxal® coating technology modifies the aluminum surface such that it assumes hydrophilic properties. As a result, water runs off more easily, enabling the evaporator to dry more quickly. This makes the evaporator more resistant to corrosion and less prone to unpleasant odors.
Heater cores
In order to heat the vehicle cabin, the heater core has to make use of the heat emitted by the engine, i.e., the coolant temperature. Behr heater cores are perfectly adapted to the respective engines and their heat output. They are characterized by their compact size and low pressure drop on both the coolant and the air side.
Compressors
The next generation of variable displacement piston compressor technology, MAHLE’s Compact Variable Compressors (CVC), are based on a swash plate simple harmonic motion mechanism. The enhanced mechanism performance makes the CVC adaptable to both pneumatic and electronic control.
MAHLE’s CVC is adaptable to a full range of vehicles. While our current product portfolio includes CVC ranging from 100 cc displacement to 185 cc displacement, MAHLE can design and validate a CVC for a specific application. The CVC can be applied to both thermostatic expansion valve and orifice tube systems.
PTC auxiliary heaters
Today’s fuel-efficient engines do not always deliver sufficient waste heat to enable rapid heating of the vehicle cabin, particularly for cold starts and in certain driving conditions. To keep the windows clear and ensure optimum thermal comfort in these situations, additional heating is provided by electric PTC auxiliary heaters that run on energy from the vehicle electronics. The heaters are available with or without an integrated controller.
High-voltage PTC heaters
High-voltage PTC heaters provide a solution for plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles with range extenders, and all-electric vehicles. In these cases, the powertrain does not generate sufficient waste heat in the electric drive mode to warm up the vehicle cabin. A powertrain-independent heating system capable of delivering up to 7 kW is required to ensure an adequate supply of heat. The high-voltage PTC heater is an energy-efficient, compact, and safe solution for heating the cabins of electric vehicles.
Blowers
Thermal and acoustic comfort is crucial in vehicle air conditioning. However, the blower is one of the main sources of noise in the vehicle cabin. Our current blower design concepts meet three separate requirements: they save valuable package space in spite of increased air flow performance, they are highly efficient, and they form the basis for excellent HVAC system acoustics.
Cabin filters
All MAHLE cabin filters are distinguished by low pressure loss and long service life. The filter media used offer a large effective surface and filter even smallest particles such as soot particles.
MAHLE adheres to the highest standards when developing its filter media. By eliminating odors from the environment, CareMetix® delivers maximum comfort in the cabin. PM2.5 filter media from MAHLE achieve ultrahigh retention efficiencies over the element’s entire service interval.
Condensers
We produce brazed, flat tube condensers that deliver high performance in spite of their compact and lightweight design. They ensure rapid cooling of the passenger compartment thanks to optimum matching of heat transfer and pressure drop on both the coolant and the air side.
Climate control systems
Climate control systems from MAHLE represent the most advanced passenger comfort technology available today. Depending on the model, they offer customized air conditioning based on individual climate settings, variable temperature distribution, as well as variable and individually adjustable air flow.
Fragrancing systems
Automobile buyer demand for greater individualization in vehicle design and enhanced comfort has sparked a strong interest on the market for fragrancing systems. Our fragrance diffuser has a modular structure and can be used in a wide range of vehicle models. Using customized dash bezels, it can be adapted to match the design specifications of automobile manufacturers. The intermittent fragrance discharge prevents “fragrance fatigue,” thus ensuring long-lasting perception of the fragrance, even on long journeys. If no longer required, it can be switched off completely by the passengers at any time. The diffuser can be fitted with two fragrance cartridges, allowing the vehicle occupants to select the one that best matches their mood and needs. The cartridges can also be replaced with new fragrances at any time.
The system identifies the inserted cartridges automatically and can relay information such as the name and fill level of the fragrance to the dash display.
