There are fins attached to the heater core which the heat transfers to and then a blower fan forces air over the fins and directs it into the cabin.
A vehicle’s heating system is an absolutely essential component to have for people who live in certain frigid climates. For others, at the least, it is a source of comfort at certain times of the year. Vehicle heating systems truly are ingenious inventions that work in surprising ways. First of all, the heat source is generated by the car’s engine. What’s amazing is that a vehicle merely needs to take advantage of the fact that the system in place that cools a car’s engine produces a lot of heat. A portion of this heat is captured and redirected towards the car’s cabin. Though that’s the gist of how vehicle heaters work there are other components involved. Coolant circulation is required to produce this effect. A mixture of coolant and water flows through the engine through pipes and absorbs heat. Then it flows into the heater core. The heater core is a network of small tubes and essentially functions as a mini radiator. There are fins attached to the heater core which the heat transfers to and then a blower fan forces air over the fins and directs it into the cabin. Of course, you can adjust the fan speed and the temperature from the car’s cabin to regulate the temperature. There’s also a defrost function, which is quite important. All in all, before vehicles developed effective heating systems, there was simply no way that a car or a truck was going to be able to traverse certain areas comfortably or even effectively. Thank God for car heaters!