Electric temperature control system for unpressurized aircraft

An electric temperature control system for conditioning an unpressurized aircraft which has little to no engine bleed air available during normal ground and air operations, the system comprising:

• one or more operator input devices for selecting a target temperature value of one or more compartments of the unpressurized aircraft;
• one or more temperature sensors for measuring the one or more compartment's air temperatures;
• one or more vapor cycle cooling systems, each system comprising a compressor, a condenser heat exchanger, a condenser blower, and an evaporator heat exchanger;
• one or more electric heaters;
• one or more blowers;
• and
• one or more electric power sources located within the unpressurized aircraft configured to power the electric temperature control system;
• wherein the electric temperature control system is configured to perform a series of control steps for each compartment of the one or more compartments, the control steps comprising:
• determining, based on a difference between the compartment's air temperature and the compartment's target temperature value, whether heating or cooling of the compartment is required;
• responsive to determining that cooling is required:
• enabling one or more of the vapor cycle cooling systems, and for each of the enabled vapor cycle cooling systems:
• modulating a cooling capacity of the compressor and the condenser blower based on the difference between the compartment's air temperature and target temperature value;
• and
• cycling refrigerant through the vapor cycle cooling system to cool air directed over the evaporator heat exchanger;
• and
• responsive to determining that heating is required:
• enabling one or more of the electric heaters, and for each of the one or more heaters:
• determining an amount of heating to provide to the compartment based on the difference between the compartment's air temperature and target temperature value;
• setting a heating capacity of the electric heater based on the difference;
• and
• directing, via a blower, the air past the electric heater for heating and blowing into the compartment;
• and
• wherein the electric temperature control system is configured to operate within the unpressurized aircraft during operations in the air and on the ground.