Seven billion gallons of gasoline. That's how much fuel America consumes each year just running the air conditioning in their cars. And don’t think riding with the windows down is the answer; the Mythbusters have long since debunked that solution.
That's 5.5 percent of the country’s fuel use, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says auto air conditioning contributes more than 58 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Factor in a 50 million additional tons of CO2 due to refrigerant leakage and you have a environmentally unhealthy result that no American would be proud of.
In the age of gaining independence from oil and seeking responsible consumption, the Department of Energy (DOE) has funded the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) to seek solutions to make air conditioning and other similar ancillary systems more efficient. The findings of this research can help automakers hit President Obama’s target for increased average fuel efficiency and put a dent in the carbon footprint of American cars.
John Rugh of the NREL says progress has been made in their efforts, but feels there is more progress to be made in the quest for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Being just the tip of the iceberg, their findings could make conventional A/C systems a thing of the past and 33 percent more energy efficient.
And to think most of their breakthroughs are attributed to the work of a four-year-old.
Meet ADAM. Weighing in at 160 pounds and standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, he is a core member of the team.
ADAM, short for Advanced Automotive Mannequin, is a physiological human model heated to body temperature with a full sensing suite. "Just don’t call him a dummy,” say John Rugh, a senior engineer at the National Renewable Energy Lab, “he takes it personally.”
One hundred and twenty sensing zones throughout his "body" measure ambient and surface temperatures, which sure beats taping all that equipment to an engineer and sticking him in a broiling car. ADAM has also been used in the development of liquid cooling garments for NASA and testing of thermal blankets the Army uses to prevent hypothermia in injured soldiers.
Using state of the art technologies such as ADAM and a well developed research plan made findings that could dictate future automotive system design. Rugh says their attack on waste associated with cabin comfort fell into three categories:
System View: A full system analysis and redesign of the vehicle cabin thermodynamics using UV glass coatings, insulation and electrically driven compressors vs. traditional belt driven units
Efficient Delivery: Using more direct delivery methods such as low-mass seats, ventilated, and thermo-electrically cooled seats. The approach – Why make the whole cabin comfortable when your aims are only to make the passengers comfortable?
High Risk Research: Investigating ways to turn waste heat and ambient noise, generated by an engine, into usable energy. Thermal acoustics, for instance, uses sound waves to transform heat into usable electricity.
The National Renewable Energy Lab isn't alone in trying to eke more efficiency out of our air conditioners. The Energy Department in December awarded $4.2 million to Ford and $2.3 million to General Motors to help them develop thermoelectric climate control systems.
The work is important for several reasons including:
The Obama Administration plans to increase the average fuel efficiency of America's cars from 27.5 mpg to 35.5 mpg within seven years. It also requires automakers to curb tailpipe emissions by 40 percent. Given the impact air conditioning and other ancillary systems has on fuel consumption, any improvements in that area will be embraced by automakers.
Air conditioning systems have a big impact on hybrid and electric vehicles. In a typical gasoline vehicle, the air conditioning will cut your fuel efficiency 15 to 20 percent. But in a hybrid, it can cut the effective fuel efficiency and range by 15 to 35 percent. Increasing the efficiency of the cooling system could boost fuel economy and range.
The UK’s ban of hydrofluorocarbon-134a (HFC-134a) gas, more commonly known as the stuff that makes your A/C work. Because HFC-134a is a known greenhouse gas, the ban could lead to the use of less-efficient alternatives as was the case when the U.S. banned CFCs. The UK ban was adopted in 2004 and takes effect early next year.
The National Renewable Energy laboratory says its work, if it is implemented by the auto industry, could save us 3 billion gallons of gas a year.
Hey, it’s a start.
Main photo: Flickr / IceNineJohn
http://www.epa.gov/cppd/mac/
