The Future of Automotive Air Conditioning is Here
Friday 9 September 2016, 1:11PM
By Media PA
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Representatives from CoolCar Air-Conditioning’s six centres in Auckland and Hamilton attended the auto-AC future:gas roadshow, on 10 August 2016, to learn about developments in automotive air conditioning refrigerants.
VASA, an industry body that represents automotive air conditioning, electrical and cooling technician members in Australasia, teamed up with Refrigerant Reclaim Australia, Refrigerants Australia and the Australian Refrigeration Council to take the roadshow around Australia and to Auckland.
The seminar was well attended by people from the automotive air conditioning and refrigeration sectors, suppliers, government and regulators.
The NZ event, held at Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre in Mount Wellington, Auckland, had a token entry fee as the organisers were keen their message was easily accessible to all.
Attendees heard about the new vehicle refrigerants HFO1234y and R744.
In the quest for a refrigerant which meets strict new low global warming and ozone depletion performance criteria, a novel chemical, 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoropropene has been adopted by the majority of new vehicle manufacturers following extensive testing. This refrigerant is mildly flammable. In the past, automotive refrigerants have been strictly non-flammable.
The lower and upper flammability limits for the refrigerant, how it disperses when released and how that compares to other, more highly flammable substances which might be used as refrigerants were discussed, and why HFO1234yf was selected.
High end Mercedes models are expected to come equipped with carbon dioxide (R744) as refrigerant in the near future. These systems will have much higher operating pressures than existing systems.
Specialised engineering of components is required to cater for the flammability in the first instance and high pressure in the second instance. In all instances, proper expertise in the diagnosis, service and repair will be required to keep repairers and car owners safe.
Spokesperson for CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centres, Peter Roper from Manukau said, “as members of VASA, a lot of what we heard at future:gas was a refresher, but it’s good to know our understanding is on the right track”.
Peter Roper said, “cars with HFO1234yf have been around for several years presenting headaches whenever service is required and some of these vehicles have been past our Centres. The problem is, the new refrigerant cannot currently be purchased for use in these systems when it is required”.
Relief is at hand as John McCormack from Chemours announced the manufacturer of HFO1234yf, Honeywell has recently applied to the NZ Environmental Protection Agency to have HFO1234yf treated as a permitted substance in NZ under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996.
“This is pleasing news”, said Peter Roper. “Hopefully, the application will be successful in time for the upcoming air-conditioning season which kicks off in October as we’ll see more of these vehicles in need of attention by our skilled team”.
“We’ve received training in the operation of HFO1234yf systems in Australia and seen the refrigerant perform in our own workshops and have a good appreciation of how like, and unalike the current refrigerant R134a, it is”.
“R134a has high global warming effects but it’ll be around in motor vehicles for many years to come”, he says. “New Zealand has yet to announce any phasedown plans for the importation of refrigerant R134a.”
The event was a great opportunity to reconnect with others in the industry and was very well received by attendees. Hopes are high that the team will be back with more updates next year.
Contact CoolCar Air-Conditioning Centres Ltd:
399 Te Rapa Road, Te Rapa, Hamilton, 3200
PO Box 27145, Garnett Ave, Hamilton, 3257
Phone: 0508 266 5227
Fax: +64 7 849 6460
E-Mail: hamilton@coolcar.co.nz
Web: www.coolcar.co.nz
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