How exactly do cooled/heated seats work?

[D/\rK•650]

I was wondering how the cooled/heated seats work in my car? Is there an air tube that runs to them or an heating element? Maybe element for heat and air tube to cool? Pretty neat feature i think.

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[LouG]

I don't know the mechanics of them. Obviously ducted cooled air, and they're bloody marvelous.

 

[Frogdog1]

I don't know the mechanics of them. Obviously ducted cooled air, and they're bloody marvelous.

I don't think the air is ducted in. There was a thread here that addressed this but I don't remember the process. I think there is some kind of device under the seats but I don't remember how they work. It just works and I like it is what counts to me. If you look under the seats, there isn't any ducting. Disclaimer: I've been wrong before.....believe it or not......

 

[LouG]

I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong.

 

[roket]

the heated function works from resistive heating pads in the seats on top of the cushion, but below the seat cover. the cooled seats are actually more correctly called ventilated seats, and it's because instead of actually cooling, there's just a fan on the back and the bottom of the seats that sucks air in through the perforations and fabric, through some holes in the cushion and heating pads, through ducting and out the fan. from what i read, though, before 2018 Ford actually did genuine seat cooling, not ventilation, through thermoelectric devices aka peltier devices. finally, this isn't relevant to the Mustang, but if any Ford or Lincoln also has MultiCountour/Active Motion seats, those are air bladders that are under the heating pads but on top of the cushions, with the exception of the bottom cushion side supports, which are under the cushion itself

 

[Gregs24]

the heated function works from resistive heating pads in the seats on top of the cushion, but below the seat cover. the cooled seats are actually more correctly called ventilated seats, and it's because instead of actually cooling, there's just a fan on the back and the bottom of the seats that sucks air in through the perforations and fabric, through some holes in the cushion and heating pads, through ducting and out the fan. from what i read, though, before 2018 Ford actually did genuine seat cooling, not ventilation, through thermoelectric devices aka peltier devices. finally, this isn't relevant to the Mustang, but if any Ford or Lincoln also has MultiCountour/Active Motion seats, those are air bladders that are under the heating pads but on top of the cushions, with the exception of the bottom cushion side supports, which are under the cushion itself

The S550 up to 2023 had a peltier device as pictured below. The 650 uses AC air from below as far as I am aware?

 

[Zig]

The S550 up to 2023 had a peltier device as pictured below. The 650 uses AC air from below as far as I am aware?

as far as I am aware?

All in good fun: you don’t know if you are aware?

but in serious, any guesses why they would revert instead of continuing to use the peltiers?

 

[Alan Applegate]

I know this! The cooling fans are too damn loud!

 

[abercul]

I was wondering how the cooled/heated seats work in my car? Is there an air tube that runs to them or an heating element? Maybe element for heat and air tube to cool? Pretty neat feature i think.

Ford
AutoNation Ford Amherst Homepage



Heated Seats
Seat heating is accomplished with a heating element that runs through the bottom cushion and the backrest. Once drivers have fired up their Ford vehicle, they can turn on the seat heaters to match their needs. Due to clever engineering, seat heaters can run from warm all the way up to extremely warm. While some might want even warmer seats, Ford has designed heated states to be safe for nearly everyone to use while on the road for long periods of time.

Cooled or Ventilated Seats
Cooled seats function like an air conditioning system for your seat. Thanks to a perforated leather interior and a powerful fan under each seat, cooled seats pull the heat away from the seat covers to help cool you down on hot days. Much like heated seats, cooled seats are adjustable to many different levels so all drivers can get comfortable, no matter what the temperature is outside

https://www.autonationfordamherst.com/features/heat-cooled-seats.htm?hl=en-US

 

[Neggytive]

the 401A package was worth it just for the cooled seats.

A friend takes my car for a spin every couple of weeks when I am north for the summer, he got in it and the cooled seats were on due to the key fob association with preferences.

He had to call me and tell me how much he and his wife liked them

In the Florida sun with the roof down, the cooled seats help make up for the fact Ford no longer makes a tan interior or top like my 07 had

Heated elements in the pads for heat, ducted cold air from the AC to cool them

 

[IceGamer]

All in good fun: you don’t know if you are aware?

but in serious, any guesses why they would revert instead of continuing to use the peltiers?

Never tried the S650 ventilated seats but I had them in my old Mercedes and test drover never versions... Mercedes version feels like air hockey as I had the impression that they are actually blowing air instead of sucking them in but maybe I'm wrong. However, it felt somewhat nice during regular temperatures but almost useless during a hot summer day but we don't have many of those here in Germany.
The cooled seats in the S550 however felt like a freezer under my a$$. I would never trade it in for just ventilated seats but I'm one of those guys who're always in need for something cooling... Why would Ford revert to another system?? Greed would be my first guess...

 

[Zig]

Never tried the S650 ventilated seats but I had them in my old Mercedes and test drover never versions... Mercedes version feels like air hockey as I had the impression that they are actually blowing air instead of sucking them in but maybe I'm wrong. However, it felt somewhat nice during regular temperatures but almost useless during a hot summer day but we don't have many of those here in Germany.
The cooled seats in the S550 however felt like a freezer under my a$$. I would never trade it in for just ventilated seats but I'm one of those guys who're always in need for something cooling... Why would Ford revert to another system?? Greed would be my first guess...

Without being too blunt, the ‘nards will freeze.

 

[GooberDH]

Never tried the S650 ventilated seats but I had them in my old Mercedes and test drover never versions... Mercedes version feels like air hockey as I had the impression that they are actually blowing air instead of sucking them in but maybe I'm wrong. However, it felt somewhat nice during regular temperatures but almost useless during a hot summer day but we don't have many of those here in Germany.
The cooled seats in the S550 however felt like a freezer under my a$$. I would never trade it in for just ventilated seats but I'm one of those guys who're always in need for something cooling... Why would Ford revert to another system?? Greed would be my first guess...

Whatever Ford did the S650 heating and cooling works way better than my S550. S550 took 5-10 minutes to get warm and cooling I only noticed under my butt and it was more like sweat mitigation vs actually feeling cold. It might have something to do with having dynamica vs leather/vinyl but my seats are warm in 30 seconds, hot after a minute, and bone chilling cold with windows up and AC on in my Dark Horse. I can actually feel the cooled seats on my back now too which I didn't on S550. First time ever where level 2 was good enough for me instead of wanting more with them on 3.

 

[D/\rK•650]

Pretty interesting stuff. Either way they work they are definitely nice features. Peltier devices and coolers are interesting in of it self. Look them up. There's some uses in PC cooling and other exotic uses.

 

[roket]

Pretty interesting stuff. Either way they work they are definitely nice features. Peltier devices and coolers are interesting in of it self. Look them up. There's some uses in PC cooling and other exotic uses.

yeah, they're neat, but the fact they will just keep dumping heat from the hot side until you either power them off or they destroy themselves can cause some issues, especially if the heat management isn't up to par. from my looking, the hot side on most can get up to 80C/176F to 100C/212F, but some of the higher temp rated ones can get as hot as 200C/392F, hot enough to bake cookies. though it seems that it's much more likely for the wires supplying power will cause an issue through overcurrent rather than a fire hazard from the device directly

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