Embedded seat heaters
In practice, three models of fixed seat heaters made in Moscow and Ulyanovsk are the ones most widely used. Very strict requirements are placed on their designs: heating time, automatic maintenance of the optimal temperature regime, and emergency shutdown of the heaters should abnormal situations arise. Naturally, one of the most important conditions for ensuring maximum comfort is even distribution of the heating zone across the area of the heater.
The editorial staff decided to test the fixed seat heaters most often installed in domestic cars. The TEPLODOM company gave great help in carrying out the test — we used the services of its laboratory and measurement center.
For the test we selected products from the Ulyanovsk company Niko-Avto and the Moscow companies ASS-Media and TEPLODOM.
ASS-Media
The heating elements are made of carbon tape laid out as a loop and laminated into a transparent plastic shell; they are inserted into a cover made of a non-flammable material. Control is entrusted to an original circuit, housed separately and sealed in heat-shrink tubing. A window-lift button and a remote-mounted LED are used. There are three heating modes, each with its own light indication, and automatic shutoff 50 min. after the last mode change.
Using carbon tape as the heating element ensures high heating rates and a quick reach of operating temperatures. The design, however, makes no provision for overheating protection. Unfortunately, the kit is not free of other shortcomings either. Besides an excessively localized heating spot, the stiff plastic shell can be felt through the seat upholstery and does not tolerate kinking.
Price – 1300 RUB.
Emelya U.K.
The heating elements are made of carbon fibers wired in a parallel circuit and placed between two heat-bonded layers of water-repellent fabric. On the reverse side, the heating modules are impregnated with an adhesive compound for secure attachment to the seat base.
Control is via the standard VAZ-2110 button, inside which the TEPLODOM company installs its own control board, offering 3 modes with a corresponding light indication for each mode, electronic overheat protection, and automatic shutoff after 30 min.
The kit offers high mechanical resistance to bending and abrasion. If one or several fibers fail, the heater keeps working. It should be noted that the heaters used in the Emelya U.K. are patented at the Russian Agency for Patents.
At present, a kit with separate control buttons is not in production, but this will be remedied in the near future.
Price – 1500 RUB.
Niko-Avto
The heating elements are made of multi-strand MGTF wiring wire. Several dozen meters of wire are laid in a zigzag between thin sheets of foam rubber. The four heaters are wired in pairs into a series circuit and impregnated on the reverse side with an adhesive compound for secure attachment to the seat base. Overheating protection is provided by a built-in thermal sensor, which shuts the system down if the temperature rises critically.
Control is via the standard VAZ-2110 button. The Niko-Avto has a single heating mode and backlighting for night use. The entire surface of the heaters warms up. The heater's design ensures even heating over the whole surface of the seat.
The rather complicated switching scheme, in which the heaters are assembled into a series circuit, means that a break in the heater at a single point causes the failure of the whole product. Moreover, wiring wire is not intended to serve as a heating element and does not tolerate repeated bending. Its use creates an electromagnetic field during operation, which is probably why the necessary sanitary-hygienic certificates have not yet been obtained.
Price – 1200 RUB.
So what did the test show?
The time needed to reach operating temperatures is within 1-3 min. for all three heaters, with the working temperatures ranging within 43-55 °C. The heating zones differ considerably. The ASS-Media heater has pronounced localized hot spots. In the Emelya U.K. unit, the heating zone is evenly distributed over the entire area of the heater. The design of the Niko-Avto heater ensures even heating across the whole surface.
The test also simulated a normal-life situation — a possible failure of the electronic protection. When connected directly, the Emelya U.K. heater warms up to 55-60 °C, while the ASS-Media one reaches values hazardous to health — 80 °C!
Text / Leonid Kruglov
Photo / Yuriy Bitov, TEPLODOM