The transition to electric mobility represents more than just a technological transformation of powertrain systems; it introduces a revolution in how cabin comfort is designed.
Unlike traditional vehicles, every watt of energy used to heat the cabin in electric cars directly impacts the vehicle's range.
In a context where efficiency, sustainability, and user experience are established as key factors, thermal management is becoming one of the most significant challenges for manufacturers in the automotive sector.
Electric motors are inherently far more efficient than internal combustion engines. While the latter dissipate up to 60–70% of energy as heat, electric powertrains produce very little residual heat.
This means that in EVs (electric vehicles), there is no surplus thermal energy to be used for cabin heating. Therefore, all climate comfort must be provided by drawing energy directly from the battery, which has an immediate impact on the driving range, especially in harsh weather conditions.
In winter, the intensive use of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) can significantly reduce the vehicle’s real-world range, raising complex technical issues and, consequently, transforming comfort into a strategic variable.
To improve energy efficiency without compromising cabin comfort, new technological approaches are shifting the focus from heating the air to directly heating surfaces, introducing a paradigm shift in the electric automotive sector.
Instead of bringing the entire volume of the cabin up to temperature, it is far more efficient and effective to directly heat areas in close proximity to the passenger: door panels, armrests, floors, ceilings, consoles, and seats.
Specifically, in cases where the car carries few occupants, the selective heating of only the occupied areas allows for significant energy savings, with immediate benefits in terms of range.
To address the new thermal challenges of electric car cabins, Zoppas Industries has developed surface heating solutions based on advanced and customisable technologies, designed to maximise thermal efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
These technologies integrate seamlessly with interior design and provide direct heat without placing a significant burden on the vehicle's battery.
At the heart of the Zoppas Industries proposal are flexible heating elements (Etched Foils): thin, conformable components that can be placed under various types of upholstery without compromising aesthetics, offering uniform and controlled heat.
In particular, Zoppas Industries' Etched Foil technologies guarantee significant advantages across several profiles, summarised as follows:
Extremely low thickness (<0.4 mm), allowing integration even in confined spaces.
High flexibility, ideal for curved, extensive surfaces or complex geometries.
Perfectly flat surface, suitable for integration under aesthetic materials such as natural leather, synthetic leather, Alcantara, and fabrics.
High power density, to quickly reach comfort temperature.
Integrable smart functions, such as touch and proximity sensors, HMI functions, or backlighting.
In this way, the heating system becomes an integral part of the design—invisible yet functional—contributing to both aesthetics and the user experience.
Tests conducted at the University of Padua have demonstrated that the combined use of surface heating and the HVAC system allows for energy savings of up to 30% during the cabin's transient heating phase—specifically, during the transition from 0°C to a comfort temperature of 21°C—compared to the exclusive use of a traditional climate control system.
This data is particularly significant because the initial warm-up phase has the greatest impact on energy consumption and user perception.
The same tests highlighted that perceived comfort increases not only in quantitative terms but, above all, qualitatively. The human body does not perceive temperature uniformly: there are more sensitive areas, such as the head, feet, elbows, and back.
Heating surfaces in close proximity to these points increases the sensation of wellbeing, reduces the time needed to reach comfort, and improves the overall passenger experience, even when the air temperature remains the same.
In practice, comfort depends not only on the amount of heat delivered but also on how that heat is distributed.
Surface heating does not completely replace the HVAC system; rather, it integrates with it in an intelligent way.
The HVAC remains indispensable for:
Summer air conditioning
Humidity control
Air exchange management
However, when coordinated with optimised control logic, surface heating and HVAC work in synergy, ensuring the best compromise between energy efficiency, comfort, and air quality.
Zoppas Industries’ vision for the future of the automotive sector is based on three fundamental pillars::
Developing solutions that maximise perceived heat while minimising the impact on the battery, directly contributing to the vehicle's range.
Designing solutions capable of heating surfaces with advanced designs—without formal constraints for designers—through the use of flexible materials and etching technologies.
Transferring know-how gained in high-complexity sectors, such as Aerospace and Medical, into the automotive world, offering robust, reliable solutions validated in extreme contexts.
Zoppas Industries is not merely a component supplier, but a long-term technological partner. The company works alongside manufacturers to develop complete solutions, from the concept phase through to industrial production.
The ZIHET consultancy service includes:
Co-engineering
Manufacturing flexibility
Global presence
Continuous technical support
In a market where comfort, efficiency, and user experience are becoming key competitive factors, surface heating represents a strategic lever for the future of the electric cabin.