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Automotive / Rail / Aerospace

Vehicle Cabin Heating

Ultra-thin surface heating foils for soft and hard surfaces — radiant heat for efficient thermal comfort. Proven in armrests, dashboards, pillars & visors.

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Vehicle Cabin Heating

Challenge

Electric vehicles produce no waste heat from the drivetrain. Conventional cabin heating via warm air is highly inefficient: it uses fresh air (not recirculation) in cold conditions, takes significant time to warm up, and warm air rises away from occupants due to buoyancy. Every watt consumed for cabin heating directly reduces driving range. ATT is convinced that surface heating based on radiation and conduction, combined with seat heating, will be one crucial element for optimized vehicle range and healthy passenger thermal comfort.

Our Solution

ATT surface heaters transfer heat via radiation — far more efficient than convective air heating. Printed heaters integrate directly into existing interior components (armrests, door panels, dashboards, A/B/C-pillars) via two methods: lamination onto soft surfaces (leather, fabric) or back-injection molding into hard plastic parts. A process developed by ATT creates the electrical connector simultaneously during injection molding — protected by an ATT patent. As area heaters rather than line heaters, our solutions achieve a larger heated fraction at lower core temperatures — improving efficiency, safety and passenger comfort simultaneously.

How It Works

1

Thermal Analysis & Concept

We analyse your interior component geometry and thermal requirements using proprietary simulation tools to determine optimal heater layout, power density and integration method.

2

Heater Design & Printing

Silver or carbon PTC heater patterns are screen-printed on flexible substrates, precisely matched to your component shape. Power distribution is optimized for uniform surface temperature.

3

Component Integration

Soft surfaces: heater laminated onto fabric, leather or foam. Hard surfaces: heater foil inserted into injection mold and back-injected — connector created simultaneously via a process developed and patented by ATT.

4

Qualification & Series

Full automotive qualification including thermal cycling, humidity and mechanical stress tests. Series production with consistent quality from our in-house manufacturing facility.

Soft Surface Integration

  • Printed silver or PTC heaters laminated onto fabric, leather or foam
  • Area heaters (not line heaters) — large heated fraction, lower core temperature needed
  • Cost advantage: larger printed heaters significantly cheaper than wire equivalents
  • PTC variant: cannot exceed predefined max temperature, even with strong insulation

Hard Surface Integration

  • Heater printed on polycarbonate foil, inserted into tooling, back-injection molded
  • Becomes inseparable part of the plastic component
  • ATT patent: electrical connector produced simultaneously during molding
  • Applicable to dashboard, glove box, door trim, sun visor, pillars

Application Areas

Armrests & Centre Console

Soft-integrated heaters in leather or fabric armrests provide direct radiant warmth to the driver's and passenger's forearms — the body region most sensitive to cold perception.

Door Panels & Trim

Heated door panels and side trim eliminate the cold-wall effect in winter. Using back-injection molding, heaters become an invisible, inseparable part of the plastic component.

Dashboard & Glove Box

Instrument panel and glove box surfaces heated via back-injection molded foils. The large surface area enables effective radiant heating at low power density — maximizing range efficiency.

A / B / C-Pillars

Pillar heaters close the last thermal gaps in the cabin envelope. Combined with door, dashboard and seat heating, they enable a fully radiant cabin heating concept without reliance on air heating.

Technical Data

Integration (Soft) Fabric, leather, foam
Integration (Hard) Back-injection molding
Connector Patent: created during molding
Heater Types Silver / Carbon PTC
PTC Feature Max temp physically limited
Thickness > 100 μm

Key Advantages

  • Radiant heat: instant comfort, no warm-up time, no buoyancy loss
  • Significant range advantage for EVs vs. conventional air heating
  • One-stop-shop: heater design, thermal simulation, manufacturing
  • Not limited to automotive — proven in rail and aerospace applications
  • 15+ years of thermal comfort engineering experience
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Frequently Asked Questions

How does back-injection integration work and why is it important?
In back-injection integration, the printed heater foil is placed in the injection mold before the plastic is injected. The heating element becomes an inseparable part of the plastic component. Crucially, the electrical connector is created simultaneously during the molding process via a process developed and patented by ATT — eliminating a separate assembly step and improving reliability.
How much energy can radiant cabin heating save compared to air heating?
Radiant surface heating transfers heat directly to occupants via infrared radiation, avoiding the losses inherent in air-based systems (buoyancy, fresh air intake, slow warm-up). Studies show that radiant heating concepts can reduce cabin heating energy consumption by 30–50% compared to conventional HVAC — a significant range benefit for electric vehicles.
What is the difference between Silver and PTC heater variants?
Silver heaters provide linear resistance heating with precise, controllable power output. Carbon PTC heaters have a positive temperature coefficient — their resistance increases with temperature, causing them to self-regulate. PTC heaters cannot exceed a predefined maximum temperature even with strong insulation, making them inherently safe without external sensors or control circuits.
Can ATT heaters be integrated into existing interior components?
Yes. For soft surfaces (fabric, leather, foam), heaters are laminated onto the existing material stack — no design changes to the component. For hard surfaces, the back-injection process integrates heaters during your standard injection molding cycle. In both cases, integration is designed to fit your existing production processes.
Are ATT cabin heaters limited to automotive applications?
No. While the primary market is automotive (passenger cars, commercial vehicles), ATT surface heaters are also proven in rail vehicles and aerospace applications. The core technology — printed heating foils integrated into surfaces — is applicable wherever efficient, lightweight radiant heating is needed.
How does ATT ensure consistent quality in series production?
ATT manufactures all heaters in-house with full process control over printing, temperature and electrical parameters. Each production batch undergoes electrical and thermal verification. For automotive projects, we follow customer-specific qualification protocols including thermal cycling, humidity testing and mechanical stress tests.

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