Hyundai Motor Group Applies 'Nano Cooling Film' to Police Buses, Cutting Interior Temperatures by Up to 7 Degrees

Hyundai Motor Group said on the 2nd that it had pilot-applied its vehicle interior temperature-reduction 'nano cooling film' to police buses, with the aim of improving working conditions for riot police officers exposed to extreme heat. The group installed the film on 2 buses operated by the Mobile Units Headquarters under the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

The vehicles are Universe buses operated by the 13th and 14th mobile units, and the film was applied to the side and rear windows. The buses outfitted with the film will be deployed for field duties.

Police buses are used as mobile work and rest spaces for mobile unit officers who stay on-site for extended periods while responding to rallies and protests. However, because of mission requirements and related regulations, it is difficult to apply dark tinting to police buses, leaving them relatively vulnerable to direct sunlight and external heat in the summer. Hyundai Motor Group launched the pilot application with that vulnerability in mind.

'Nano cooling film' is designed to reflect incoming solar heat from outside and release heat from inside the vehicle to the outside. The film consists of 3 layers in total: 2 layers that reflect near-infrared solar energy and 1 layer that emits mid-infrared heat from inside the vehicle.

The film has a transmittance of 90%, and 'nano cooling film' can be applied to windows in the same way as conventional tinting film. The effect cited in the headline is a reduction in interior temperature of up to 7 degrees.

Hyundai Motor Group conducted cooling performance tests of the nano cooling film on Universe hydrogen FCEV buses and low-floor hydrogen FCEV buses produced at its Jeonju plant. As a result, vehicles equipped with the film recorded interior temperatures about 2 to 3 degrees lower on average than vehicles without it, while the driver's seat showed a temperature difference of nearly 7 degrees at most between the film-equipped and non-equipped vehicles.

Hyundai Motor Group said it believes suppressing the rise in interior temperature can reduce the energy needed for air conditioning. According to the company, on a clear day with an outside temperature of 35 degrees, lowering the interior temperature of a Universe bus from 27 degrees to 26 degrees requires about 1.6kWh of electricity.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to track the police buses outfitted in this pilot program for the next 1 year. The follow-up observation is intended to verify the cooling effect and quality in actual operating environments, and the company plans to review whether to mass-produce the nano cooling film based on the pilot operation results.

Nano cooling film has also been tested overseas. Hyundai Motor conducted a campaign in Pakistan in 2024, and Pakistan is a country where vehicle tinting is legally banned. At the time, the company installed transparent nano cooling film free of charge on vehicles belonging to more than 70 drivers.

Lee Min-jae, a senior researcher at Hyundai Motor and Kia's Basic Materials Research Center, said he felt rewarded to have developed technology aimed at supporting police officers struggling in the sweltering heat, adding that the company plans to expand real-world vehicle applications of the technology and improve its completeness through follow-up observations.

Source: TECHWORLD · Kim Seung-gi
Original: https://www.epnc.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=406410

References

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