Hydronic occupant zone heating and cooling
A vehicle includes an occupant zone, a battery, a battery heating and cooling system, sensors, and a battery management system. The battery heating and cooling system includes a refrigeration circuit and a fluid battery circuit, the fluid battery circuit including a battery heating/cooling loop and a hydronic system heating/cooling loop. The sensors include at least one occupant sensor that senses the presence of an occupant in an occupant zone. The battery management system operates the refrigeration circuit to heat or cool coolant circulating through the battery heating/cooling loop. When conditions are met for providing ancillary heating or cooling, the battery management system directs the coolant circulating though the battery heating/cooling loop to the hydronic system heating/cooling loop to heat or cool the occupant zone.
1 . A vehicle, comprising:
an occupant zone, wherein the occupant zone is partially located exterior to the vehicle;
a battery;
a battery heating and cooling system including a refrigeration circuit and a fluid battery circuit, the fluid battery circuit including a battery heating/cooling loop and a hydronic system heating/cooling loop;
sensors, operatively connected to a battery management system and including at least one occupant sensor that senses the presence of an occupant in an occupant zone; and
the battery management system including:
at least one processor; and
a memory including instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the battery heating and cooling system to:
operate the refrigeration circuit to heat or cool coolant circulating though the battery heating/cooling loop to heat or cool the battery toward a target battery temperature;
receive an indication to provide ancillary heating or cooling to the occupant zone;
determine, based at least on the presence of an occupant in the occupant zone, that conditions are met for providing ancillary heating or cooling; and
direct the coolant circulating though the battery heating/cooling loop to the hydronic system heating/cooling loop to heat or cool the occupant zone.
2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hydronic system heating/cooling loop is fluidly connected to tubing embedded in a hydronic object.
3 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the occupant zone is a sleeper compartment.
4 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the indication to provide ancillary heating or cooling to the occupant zone comprises a temperature measurement of the occupant zone outside a target occupant zone temperature.
5 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the indication to provide ancillary heating or cooling to the occupant zone comprises a user request to precondition the occupant zone.
6 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein in directing the coolant circulating though the battery heating/cooling loop to the hydronic system heating/cooling loop to heat or cool the occupant zone, the instructions cause the battery heating and cooling system to:
circulate the coolant to absorb heat from the battery in the battery heating/cooling loop;
receive an indication to provide ancillary heating to the occupant zone; and
redirect the heat-absorbed coolant from the battery heating/cooling loop to the hydronic system loop.