At the second conference on the 4th of December 2013 about 80 participants discussed the “Future of Air-Conditioning in Cars” at the Representation of the European Commission in Germany. What happened since our first conference in 2011? What did PRO KLIMA achieve and what still needs to be done?

Legislative Framework

The current implementation status of the MAC directive and the revision of the EU-f-gas regulation as well as their links respectively consequences on the area of mobile air conditioning were highlighted in the presentations of UBA and EIA.

• Dr. Wolfgang Plehn (UBA): Kältemittel in Fahrzeugklimaanlagen (PDF, 1,6 MB)
• Tim Grabiel (EIA): European policy on F-gases and revision of the F-Gas Regulation (PDF, 0,6 MB)

Refrigerant Alternatives

In addition to safety risks, the environmental aspects of the refrigerant R1234yf are discussed among experts. In contrast to the previously employed R134a, R1234yf degrades to much larger amounts of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the atmosphere. Potential environmental consequences of TFA in case of a wide application of R1234yf were the subject of a study that was presented by Empa. The international dimension of the refrigerant debate and regulations in other parts of the world was the topic of presentation of the ICCT.

• Dr. Stephan Henne (Empa): Umwelteinflüsse des Kältemittels R1234yf (PDF, 3,2 MB)
• Ray Minjares (ICCT): Deployment of low GWP refrigerants in the passenger vehicle fleet: An international perspective (PDF, 4,5 MB)

Additional fuel consumption and innovative technologies

For a realistic evaluation and reporting of the additional consumption of air conditioning systems in cars, SINTEF developed a special tool for consumption analysis, which integrates various consumption-related parameters.The company a2 solar showed that the energy demand of air-conditioning can be covered with a roof-mounted PV system. How the demand for air conditioning can be reduced from the outset with heat-reflective glass, was the subject of the contribution of Glass for Europe.

• Daniel Rohde/Dr. Armin Hafner (SINTEF): Verbrauchsanalyse von Pkw-Klimaanlagen (PDF, 1,0 MB)
• Reinhard Wecker (a2-solar): Kraftwerk auf dem Dach: Mit Photovoltaik den Energiebedarf der Klimatisierung decken (PDF, 0,6 MB)
• Vivien Fourcade (Glass for Europe): Solar control glazing to curb heat load and air-conditioning fuel consumption (PDF, 1,1 MB)

The final panel discussion picked up the potential dangers for rescue workers and first aiders by the vehicles already filled with R1234yf. A concluding set of opinions showed that the majority of experts see CO2 as the future car refrigerant.