Renault: How the Megane E-Tech 100% electric works in winter 🎥

The Renault Megane E-Tech 100% electric can cover up to 470 kilometers on a single charge. However, this distance depends on the driving style and outside temperatures. After all, energy is also required to heat the interior in winter. Perfect thermal management in the battery system is therefore a prerequisite for maximum range. For this purpose, the power storage unit must be heated at low outside temperatures using a water circuit fed by the waste heat from the electric motor. At hot ambient temperatures, on the other hand, the battery temperature is limited with water from the cooling circuit. A fundamental challenge is that, unlike an internal combustion engine, an electric motor does not generate enough waste heat to keep the interior at a comfortable temperature at all times.

More efficient heat pump

Jean-Marie L'Huillier, Renault expert for thermal management systems, explains that the temperature balance of the battery can be better controlled with a new generation of more efficient heat pumps in the Megane E-Tech 100% electric. During fast charging or prolonged operation with high power output, a lot of heat is generated in the battery, which then needs to be used to heat the interior. The improved heat management can also slow down the trend towards ever larger batteries to a certain extent.

Jean-Marie L'Huillier: "This innovation not only helps to cool the battery and the drive motor, but it also requires only half as much energy to heat the interior sufficiently compared to a conventional heat pump. At outside temperatures of less than ten degrees Celsius, the range can be increased by up to new percent compared to conventional systems - without lowering the temperatures inside."

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Read on Friday, December 22, 2023: Updates for the Megane E-Tech 100% electric come automatically.