![\"heated-seats-thumb\"](\"http:\/\/blog.privatefleet.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/heated-seats-thumb.jpg\")
Would you like to have a hot butt? \u00a0No, this is not an ad for some fancy-pants workout programme or weight loss gadget. Instead it\u2019s all about one of my favourite driver conveniences, heated seats.<\/p>\nWould you like to have a hot butt? \u00a0No, this is not an ad for some fancy-pants workout programme or weight loss gadget. Instead it\u2019s all about one of my favourite driver conveniences, heated seats.<\/p>\n
Electrically heated seats were the brainchild of the designers at Saab <\/a>\u2013 those Swedes certainly come up with some great practical features.\u00a0 This isn\u2019t surprising, really.\u00a0 We all know how cold it can get up there in a country that lies partly inside the Arctic Circle.\u00a0 Saab, like the other Swedish giant, Volvo<\/a>, know how to build cars that are toasty-warm and can cope with cold conditions (perhaps a little too much so \u2013 in a Saab I once had, the soft lining on the inside of the cabin roof came away because the adhesive melted in the warmth of a summer Down Under).<\/p>\n However, according to the Saab History site <\/a>\u00a0(a fun place to poke around if you, like me, are a fan of Swedish vehicles), these heated seats were designed with another purpose in mind.\u00a0 Instead, the aim of heated seats was to reduce backache and driver fatigue, rather than simply warming up after a brush with a Swedish winter.\u00a0 This does make a certain sort of sense.\u00a0 After all, there are other ways of ensuring that your lower half is warm enough, including a snuggly blanket tossed across your knees and wearing ski pants or long woollen underwear.\u00a0 On the other hand, given that it\u2019s the extremities that get coldest first and driving in mittens or ski gloves is pretty tricky, if dealing with chilly conditions was the aim of the game, you\u2019d think that heated steering wheels would have made it onto the scene first (the patent for the motorbiking equivalent, heated grips, was acquired by BMW <\/a>in the early 1980s). And it\u2019s certainly true that having something nice and warm on your lower back and around your hips eases the ache of long periods spent behind the wheel\u2026 which could easily be a topic for another post.<\/p>\n How do heated seats work their magic to give you that nice warm feeling?\u00a0 Basically, it uses the same principle as an electric blanket.\u00a0 This means that the seat contains a heating coil that is supplied with electricity from the car\u2019s battery, and also contains a thermostat to make sure that the heating coil doesn\u2019t behave like the other heating coils we\u2019re all familiar with (ovens and bar heaters) and fry you.\u00a0 Switch the heated seats on and the electricity flows through the coil (which is a resistor, for all you more scientifically inclined folks), which heats up.\u00a0 When the thermostat detects that you\u2019ve reached the right temperature, the electricity is cut until the temperature falls below a threshold.<\/p>\n If, however, you have seats that have a heating and cooling function (which you do find on some of the latest models), the technology is a little different. Here, the seat has air vents in it (not so big that they become uncomfortable, of course) and either hot air or cold air is piped around your nether end, similar to what happens with other parts of the air con or ventilation system.<\/p>\n One of the things that was mentioned in that old Saab press release was that the heating system was safe and wouldn\u2019t cause electric shocks in the presence of moisture.\u00a0 This is a problem with electric blanket, after all, and is why I\u2019m not alone in preferring a hot water bottle on chilly nights.\u00a0 Some commentators have sniggered at the suggestion that drivers or front passengers might be wetting their pants and thus need the protection.\u00a0 These commentators obviously have never spilt coffee in their laps or worn those raincoats that ride up and let your bum and thighs get wet.\u00a0 Or slipped and fallen in a puddle.\u00a0 Or, presumably, worn a wet swimming costume while driving\u2026 although if it\u2019s warm enough to swim in a location that doesn\u2019t allow you to get changed properly, you aren\u2019t likely to be needing the services of a heated seat.\u00a0 Unless, of course, your back aches.<\/p>\n