Ford’s heat pump technology, used in the VIHP (Vapour Injection Heat Pump), allows for efficient heating and cooling of large vans like the E-Transit. The technology works by using cold refrigerant gases to absorb heat from the environment and then compressing them to increase their temperature. This allows a small amount of electrical energy to be used to generate a larger amount of heat energy. The VIHP can extract thermal energy from the outside air, even at 10°C below freezing, to heat the cabin. When temperatures outside rise above 25°C, the integrated cooling system can also pull heat out of the cabin, reducing the battery power needed to run the air-conditioning. Testing in over 100 wind tunnel tests and 25,000 km of real-world testing in various conditions, including extreme temperatures, showed that the E-Transit with a large battery and VIHP had an improvement in range of 7-10% compared to a conventional E-Transit without a heat pump.
For its new electric vans, Ford has designed a distinctive heat pump system.
