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With air-conditioning becoming standard equipment on many new models, it is becoming increasingly necessary and important to develop more energy efficient and greener mobile air-conditioning systems (MAC).
Honeywell recently announced that the SAE International Cooperative Research Program has endorsed that company’s low-global-warming-potential refrigerant for use in MACs to meet new, more stringent regulations in Europe.
The SAE program team reported that refrigerant HFO-1234yf offers superior environmental performance and that this alternative refrigerant has been judged to have the lowest risk for use in mobile air conditioning systems in meeting environmental and consumer needs.
The SAE’s research program was launched in 2007 as a response to the European Union’s MAC directive, which requires that all new vehicles produced starting in 2011 use a refrigerant with a global warming potential (GWP) of below 150. Current global mobile air conditioning systems use HFC-134a, a refrigerant with a GWP of 1430, however, HFO-1234yf has a GWP of only four.
The SAE program’s extensive testing showed that HFO-1234yf is a highly energy-efficient refrigerant, meaning autos with HFO-1234yf use less fuel and have fewer (greenhouse gas) emissions than those that use alternatives. The program found that while CO2, another proposed alternative, has a global warming potential of 1, it is less efficient than 1234yf, resulting in greater indirect emissions.
Rene Mueller, managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Honeywell Fluorine Products, said, “Use of HFO-1234yf meets the ultimate goal of reducing not only the direct global warming impact of automotive refrigerants, but also the impact of indirect fuel emissions tied to running air conditioning. Because 1234yf, unlike CO2, is efficient and effective in even the hottest regions, it is a truly global solution.”
The SAE program was conducted by international experts in the field of refrigerants and automotive technology from major automakers, as well as Tier 1 and 2 suppliers and independent test facilities. Program members include major automobile manufacturers from Europe, Asia, and the U.S., who together account for approximately 70 percent of all new vehicle sales in the EU and globally.
HFO-1234yf is a near drop-in replacement for current refrigerants, meaning that it does not require a complete redesign of current air conditioning systems and can be more easily used in the existing fleet of automobiles. This means lower overall car costs for the consumer and faster adoption by automakers globally.
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