GreenPower Unveils New Heating System for All-Electric Nano BEAST School Bus to Improve Cold-Weather Performance
GreenPower Motor Company has introduced an advanced heating solution for its Type A Nano BEAST all-electric school bus, designed to maintain cabin comfort in cold climates without significantly reducing range.
from 17°F to 84°F
7,000 ft (Cuba) and 5,000 ft (Shiprock)
Little to none
What Happened
GreenPower Motor Company has unveiled a new heating solution for its Type A Nano BEAST all-electric school bus, developed in response to feedback from school districts that experienced cold cabin issues during winter. The system efficiently delivers consistent warmth throughout the vehicle with little to no impact on range, and is part of a cold weather package that also includes heated battery packs.
“At GreenPower, the safety and comfort of students are of utmost importance. Our new heating solution, which will become part of our cold weather package, demonstrates GreenPower’s commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in the electric school bus industry.”
from 17°F to 84°F in 30 minutes
Tested at Cuba School District in New Mexico at 7,000 feet elevation.
Field trials in high-elevation communities such as Cuba and Shiprock, New Mexico, showed that the new heaters warmed the bus quickly and maintained temperature throughout routes without affecting operational range. The cold weather package preserves the Nano BEAST's eligibility for incentive funding and maintains its zero-emission status, unlike solutions that rely on non-electric heaters.
Why this matters
This innovation addresses a key challenge for electric school buses in cold regions, ensuring student comfort and reliability while preserving zero-emission status, which is critical for school districts seeking to adopt sustainable transportation.
Terms in This Story
- zero-emission vehicle
- A vehicle that produces no exhaust emissions from its onboard source of power, such as an all-electric bus.
- Level 2 charger
- A charging station that supplies alternating current (AC) at 240 volts, commonly used for overnight charging of electric vehicles.
- cold weather package
- A set of features designed to improve vehicle performance and comfort in cold climates, often including enhanced heating and battery thermal management.
- purpose-built
- Designed and manufactured from the ground up for a specific function, rather than being converted from another vehicle type.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.