Quote:
Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary
Power isn't always indicative of cooling needs. It's one thing to cruise up a mountain pass in a Ferrari. It's another to do so in a Ford F-350 with a 15,000lb loaded trailer.
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I'd argue that is very incorrect.
Especialy in EVs the cooling requirement increases faster than the power output for a given drivetrain.
Also when the Ferrari is cruising, it's producing significantly less power than the truck does when towing.
But when you're driving it on the track on a hot summer day, it needs all the cooling it can get.
Cooling requirements are not static, one needs to think less of it as a dumb heatsink, rather it's a thermal management system.
The big deal is that shutters are not an ideal solution, variable air intakes would probably be more efficient as they can reduce the stagnation area significantly when closed.
During winter an EV (or some ICE vehicles) require no cooling airflow at all.
All waste heat is required to keep the drivetrain at operating temperature and the driver comfortable.
Meanwhile during summer at 40°C+ you'll need to run active cooling systems for the battery and driver.
The main issue EVs have with cooling is a low temperature difference between the drivetrain and ambient temperature.
In some situations you even need to cool them below ambient temperature at a high thermal load while stationary.
(charging at a 350 kW charger during a hot summer day)
That requires massive amounts of airflow, strong blowers and heatpumps.
And since heatpumps themselfes produce waste heat, you have even more waste heat to get rid of at a standstill, but a higher temperature difference.
These thermal management systems are rather complex and there certainly is room for improvements.
EVs need a massive range of cooling air from none at all to a ****load due to low temperature differences and the heat load often not scaling with their speed.
Meanwhile ICEs only produce heat when they are running and the heat production scales pretty well with their speed while their coolant temperatures are usualy some 80-90°C, not 20-30°C
Maybe a moveable intake-cone, maybe adjustable NACA ducts or something like that will help them in the near future.