GMC uses Iceman to create ‘virtual’ hot and cold comfort

2012 GMC Terrain Navigates the Winter Roads

Heating and cooling a vehicle requires energy, and until now, there has been little effort put forth to make passengers comfortable rather than filling the space with comfortable air. Commercial airliners heat and cool passengers much more efficiently than cars because they simply direct jets of air to specific places, whereas a car’s air handling system constantly replaces all of the air in the cabin with comfortable air.

This is not a hardship often for heating the car, but for cooling, the compressor has to work pretty hard. In a combined venture between GMC, the US Department of Energy, the California Energy Comission, Delphi Automotive and the University of California at Berkeley, GM’s Jeff Bozeman is using the GMC Terrain as a pilot project to make the HVAC systems in cars more efficient.

This is accomplished with intelligent test dummies, which mimic human temperature preferences. In short, GMC say they have significantly improved the air handling system in the 2012 GMC Terrain.

– By: Sawyer Sutton