Method and system for thermal storage in a vehicle

Abstract

A method for charging a thermal storage device of a thermal storage heat pump system in a vehicle is provided. The method includes comparing an actual temperature of the thermal storage device to a target temperature, and an actual charge time to an available charge time, where the comparing is performed by a controller. The target temperature may be based upon ambient air temperature and ambient air humidity. The actual charge time is the time it takes to charge the thermal storage device to the target temperature. The available charge time is the difference between the current time and an intended departure time. When the target temperature is greater than the actual temperature, and the available charge time is equal to or greater than the actual charge time, the controller may charge the thermal storage device until the actual temperature is equal to the target temperature.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.