At CES 2023 multinational corporation ZF presented several innovations in the field of electric mobility, including new heated seat belts that promise to improve the range of electric cars in winter, when the vehicles’ batteries can be heavily penalized by cold temperatures.
Will heated seat belts be the next big thing for electric cars?
News like this might make us wonder: has no one ever thought of this idea before? Heated seats for cars are already very common, but heated belts have never been concretely planned on board vehicles until now.
According to the multinational company that developed the heated belts, these could help drivers and passengers reduce the energy consumption used to heat an electric vehicle.
The belts are designed to work together with heated seats and steering wheels to maximize efficiency. ZF stated that during the cold season, this technology could increase autonomy by up to 15%, reducing the need to heat the vehicle with air.
Heated seat belts: how do they work?
The heated belts are made up of a special ribbon with woven heating conductors. This means that the belt is slightly thicker than standard sizes. ZF stated that: “the heated belt is designed to provide occupants with a uniform feeling of warmth close to the body.”
Of course, the heated belt does not penalize safety in any way compared to a standard belt, its objective is to try to gain a bit of autonomy compared to conventional methods of heating cars, reaching temperatures between 36 and 40 degrees Celsius.
To date, no car brand has announced an agreement with ZF to market the belts, but it would not be surprising to see them on some vehicles in the coming years.
