VW's Wireless Heated Windshield Uses Invisible Silver to Foil Frost
Unless you live in a tropical climate year round, you’ve likely been forced to become a cold and pathetic vessel of sadness as you de-ice your windshield at 7:30 a.m. before spending the rest of your day filing TPS reports at a job you hate. Unfortunately, maxing out the defroster takes too long, and self-heating windscreens rely on always-visible filaments that range from slightly distracting to more bewildering than a BeDazzled pair of ’90s jorts, depending on how the light hits the wires.
Ford’s Quickclear — an option unavailable in the United States — is one of the better examples of heated glass. However, a passing car with strong headlights can illuminate the entire wire network, involuntarily influencing a person’s eyes to refocus numerous distances within a second or two.
Volkswagen’s new solution to the problem is to use a “wafer-thin electrically conductive layer of silver within the laminated glass” in lieu of traditional wires — and that means it’s invisible, ushering in a new golden era of automotive ownership for car owners often fraught with the burden of frost.
While VW says the climate windshield is a “defrosting aid,” the system draws between 400 and 500 watts, or enough to nuke the bonds between glass and serious slabs of ice within minutes. The system has additional filaments near the bottom of the glass to prevent wipers from becoming clingier than that girl you met during your third year of university.
Benefits are not limited exclusively to winter, however. VW claims its invisible layer of silver reflects up to 60 percent of harsh, summertime rays, resulting in interior temperatures 15 degrees cooler versus conventional glass with green tinting.
Volkswagen is offering the filament-free windscreen as an optional extra on European models. There’s no word on the technology arriving in North America — but there’s a country with about 35 million people who we assume would happily pay the 340 Euros for the convenience.
[Image: Volkswagen]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Specialized semi-exotic but not really technology from VAG. What could possibly go wrong...
Always wondered why no one thought to place a ceramic heating element in with the heater core - on the "interior" side of air flow - that would heat the air used for defrost until the engine temp reached a certain temp at which point it would automatically turn off - or be turned off manually. The fan speed would default - or be forced - to a medium low setting while the element is on/heated. (That may not be needed depending on the heat available from the ceramic element.) The porous ceramic element could be placed in the defrost ducts and do the same thing (possibly a better placement).