Influence of fresh air utilization strategy on energy-saving in air conditioning systems and driving range extension in electric vehicles

The development of electric vehicles (EVs) is of great significance to carbon emissions reduction; however, range anxiety is a major obstacle in the promotion of EVs. Utilizing fresh air under appropriate operating conditions for cooling or dehumidification can reduce the energy consumption of air conditioning (AC) systems for EVs, which has the potential to extend the driving range. In this study, two fresh air utilization strategies for AC systems of EVs are proposed. The AC energy consumption and the resulting driving range degradation of an EV throughout the year with traditional and proposed fresh air control strategies are calculated, moreover, the effects of the proposed strategies on AC energy-saving and driving range extension are discussed through comparative analysis. The results indicate that the fresh air mode optimization strategy can save the energy consumption of AC systems by 11.3% and 18.8% and improve the driving range degradation by 10.2% and 18.0% in summer and transition seasons, respectively, compared with the minimum fresh air volume strategy. Additionally, the energy consumption of the AC system and the driving range degradation using the fresh air volume optimization strategy are reduced by 35.3% and 32.6% in winter compared with the minimum fresh air volume strategy.