This month we are highlighting research extracts from our QUBE Automotive Glazing sector intelligence service ahead of an automotive glazing webinar scheduled for July 10. First up is an overview of technical developments in the area of heated windshields.
In the 1980s, some vehicle makers discovered the benefit of laminated glass as a way of introducing new functionalities in glass. It started with antennae: a fine metal wire was embedded in the PVB by use of a heated needle before final lamination and provided radio reception through the windshield. Shortly thereafter came the defrosting system in the rear window by use of heating wires. A system similar to the antennae was used to embed tiny tungsten wires in the PVB, allowing the vehicle maker to offer an aesthetic solution for defrosting the rear window. Mercedes-Benz was the first user of this technology which has eventually migrated to windshields. Ford is currently the main user.
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There are two solutions to clear windows of mist and ice from a windshield: forced air heating and electrical resistance heating. An auto executive of Peugeot told us: “Electrical resistance heating has been applied for a number of years but not by Peugeot. A lot of Ford and Renault cars have it. The solution they use is based on a small wire that is laminated inside the glass that you connect to the electrical circuit of the car and battery to heat the windscreen. The problem is that the small wires are fiddly to install and, in some cases, visible at night by the driver. So at Peugeot, we decided not to apply this technology as it would reduce the quality of the windscreen. Also, there is another technical solution that involves the use of the electrical resistance of the infrared coating that we have on a lot of windscreens at Peugeot. But the problem with this type of solution is that you cannot do it with a 12V but you need to have 42V or something like that in order to get a good level of windscreen heating. So the Audi applied this solution on the A8 but this type of car is not the type of high-end car we build at Peugeot. So I think that this kind of technique is more suitable for very high-end cars.”
Another auto executive told us: “The market demand is certainly there but the problem is with the technology. There is not the suitable technology that exists today. And there would be further adoptions if new technology was suitable is terms of aesthetics and consumption itself.”
Another auto executive of a European glass maker discussed heated windshields and the extent to which they use electrical resistance heating. He told us: “The Audi A8 has it. It is a heated silver transparent coating that is applied directly to the glass.” In terms of any emerging or alternative methods to heat windshields, he added: “I don’t see any other heating method coming up for the moment. We are working on another process which is based on emmisivity but this is completely different.”
When discussing the Audi A8’s heated windshield, another auto executive told us: “The Audi A8 uses a metal coating which is heatable. And in order to get the power, they are using an inverter which is transforming these 12V into 42V to heat the windscreen. But that is adding substantial cost to the car. They can afford it for an A8 but they wouldn’t be able to afford it for a VW Golf. It is quite interesting if you look at the market segments for these heated windshields. I was talking to one OEM who pointed this out to me and said that most people who have a premium vehicle also keep that car in a garage so they don’t actually need it. So the need for heated windshields is probably greater in lower segments.”
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By GlobalDataAlthough a key element in the design of heated windshield is the voltage available to drive the device, 12V is still the norm. With 42V technology still waiting in the wings, there are alternative ways in which heated windshield technology could advance. The auto executive told us: “On the Audi A8 it uses a transformer to get the tension up from 12V to 42V in order to get enough heating power into the coating. So that is one way forward. Another possibility is to wait for electric cars because, in the case of electric cars, there is not any forced heating because there is no heat being generated by the combustion engine, of course. So there must be other solutions. So I think that all electric cars will have electrically heated glass.”
As far as Ford’s heated windshield is concerned, an auto executive told us: “Some OEMs don’t like the wiggle wires because of the aesthetic aspect, so they are looking for different solutions. There are some very, let’s say, strange solutions to say the least like ways to splash hot water to the windscreen. That is a very crude way to do it. They are also looking at heatable windscreens by using metal coating – which already exists for solar reflection. I know at least one or two glass manufacturers which have developed a heatable coating but the problem there is the fact that it requires a lot of power and the existing batteries are not able to supply the existing power required to give you fast enough defrosting of the windscreen.”
While heated windshields are available on European-built cars, they have yet to appear in North America. An auto executive of a US-based glass maker told us: “There aren’t any [heated windshields in North America.] They [vehicle makers] have done that but they are now all de-contented. We are only seeing that on cars from Europe. It is not true in all cases but in many cases the European car makers don’t send that option to the US. I think a lot of it relates to the fact that the European auto makers want to make the vehicle a little less costly when they ship it to North America, especially with the exchange rate right now, to make it competitive.”
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Surface Engineering and Thin Films IST in Braunschweig, Germany have developed a process that allows them to manufacture not just transparent, but healable films.
More on the exclusive and free-to-access glazing webinar scheduled for July 10
