How Do Heated Seats Work in Cars?
Photo: lqiuz via Pixabay
Driving in the winter is unpleasant at best. Not only do you have to navigate ice and snow on the road, but you have to pile on the layers or wind up shivering for the first few miles while your car heats up.
One thing that can make winter driving a little more enjoyable is heated seats. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as the feel of a heated seat toasting your frosty buns while you drive. If you’re wondering how these miracles of modern engineering work, read on to learn the technicalities of this luxury feature.
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How heated seats work
Heated seats rely on similar technology to other heat-producing products such as water heaters, hairdryers, and electric blankets, explains It Still Runs contributor Isaiah David. For starters, there’s something called a resistor built into the car seat. This is typically a heating coil that consists of a long strip of wire whose function is to resist the current of electricity.
When you turn on the seat’s heating function, electricity flows to the coil via a circuit. This triggers a weak magnetic field that flips the system’s relay switch. This, in turn, lets electricity flow from the car’s battery to the resistor.
Heated seats have an internal thermostat that maintains the seat’s heat and limits how hot the seat gets during use, as CarParts.com explains. This thermostat shuts off the relay switch once the seat reaches a certain temperature. It also triggers the relay switch when it detects that the temperature is too low.
Who invented the first heated car seat?
In case you’re wondering who you have to thank for this wonderful invention that makes winter drives more pleasant, the guy’s name is Robert L. Ballard. This General Motors employee gets the credit for designing the first heated car seat. According to Hagerty’s Larry Printz, he filed for a patent on his design in 1951. Though, he had to wait until 1955 before the federal government granted him the patent. GM then debuted the heated car seat on the 1966 Cadillac Fleetwood.
Read about how to troubleshoot and fix a heated car seat. Then discover some helpful accessories that help make cold-weather drives more comfortable.
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Whitney Russell resides in Dayton, though her spirit can be found beach-bumming in Puerto Rico (the land of her half-Puerto Rican heritage). When not crafting car-related content, she can be found chasing after the most amazing toddler in the world, watching her “beaver” of a husband build amazing woodworking projects, hanging out with two crazy dogs, and visiting family and friends. She also enjoys traveling, crafting, and binge-watching period dramas when time allows. See more articles by Whitney.