ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011 - (Page 24)

2011 Phoenix symposium: some answers, more questions by Elvis Hoffpauir M ACS spent the last week of September in Phoenix participating in SAE International’s 2011 Alternate Refrigerant and System Efficiency Symposium.With the industry currently engaged in mobile air conditioning refrigerant transition activities, this forum convened almost 200 leading experts from Asia, Europe and North America to discuss the transition and new technologies likely to affect the future of the industry. First convened in the ‘90s, this annual gathering of technology leaders is an essential forum for the sharing of information, ideas and technological innovation.s. the streets in the U.S. Brian Nelson of EPA’s Assessments and Standards Division discussed EPA’s and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rule establishing a national program consisting of new standards for model year 2012 through 2016 light-duty vehicles. The rule is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel economy. The EPA GHG standards require these vehicles to meet an estimated combined average emissions level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) per mile in model year 2016, equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon if the automotive industry were to meet this CO2 level all through fuel economy improvements. EPA, CARB, NHTSA A/C credits Nelson also noted that EPA, CARB (California Air Resources Board) and NHTSA will soon propose a national fuel economy and GHG rule for model year 2017 through 2025 of 163 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. He said the A/C credit program would continue. For the first time NHTSA will incorporate efficiency credits into CAFE (5 grams per mile for cars and 7.2 grams per mile for trucks). The maximum credit of 18.8 grams per mile for cars and 24.4 grams per mile for trucks is chiefly earned by using low GWP refrigerants. Some manufactures have notified EPA that there are issues with the A/C Idle test procedure used to determine credits, Nelson reported. He also said that EPA plans to make some adjustments to the tests based on engine size. EPA and CARB are working with the industry to develop new procedures. During this week, technical presentations provide a vision of the future of interior cabin climate control, and workshops are convened to discuss and reach consensus on seminal standards for vehicle climate control strategies, systems, components, equipment, tools and service procedures. The work done and decisions made here will almost certainly have an impact on service shops around the country, and around the world. In his welcoming remarks, Ward Atkinson, symposium cochairman along with Bill Hill, warned of one potential problem: “With the current list of SNAP refrigerants and cost differentials available to consumers, the potential hazard of R-1234yf systems becoming contaminated is very real. This will repeat the MAC system and equipment contamination issues the industry experienced during the CFC-12 to HFC-134a transition.” Stephen Andersen, currently Director of Research for the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development and formerly with the U.S. EPA during the earlier refrigerant transition in the early ‘90s, echoed Atkinson’s concerns. Andersen’s organization supports the HFC-134a phase-out and strategies for increasing energy efficiency of mobile air conditioning systems, the two key themes of this year’s symposium. R-1234yf Chris Seeton of Honeywell presented test data regarding the use of R-1234yf for cooling in electric and hybrid vehicles. He also reviewed the current status of implementation of the refrigerant. There will be an interim plant start-up before the end of 2011, with saleable product expected early in the first quarter of 2012. The company is engaged with carmakers in Asia, Europe and the U.S. for implementation of R-1234yf into their production facilities. Honeywell R-1234yf will be joined with other Honeywell low GWP products under the brand name “Solstice.” New regulations When the U.S. EPA proposed HFO-1234yf as acceptable subject to use conditions under the Significant New Alternatives Policy (SNAP) program in March of this year, EPA said the agency “will consider under a separate rulemaking under section 609, whether it is necessary to modify our existing regulations … to include additional specifications for HFO-1234yf.” The industry has been anticipating guidance in this area from the EPA since that time. At the symposium, the agency’s Yaidi Cancel said the anticipated date for issuing a proposed regulation is spring 2012 (although the exact timing remains uncertain), which would coincide with the first cars equipped with the new refrigerant hitting 24 ACTION • November / December 2011 Refrigerants AC5 and AC6 The symposium heard reports from the MAC Refrigerant Blend Cooperative Research Project (CRP) which has been investigating two new low GWP alternative refrigerants for use in automotive air conditioning. Members of the CRP presently include vehicle manufacturers Citroen, General Motors, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Peugeot, Renault, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) Group and Volvo, along with Tier One suppliers Denso, Doowan, Sanden and Visteon.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011
Table of Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Technically RELAY-ted
Under the Southern Cross
Leonard’s Law
News & Updates
Virtual View
Cooling Corner
Painting an Unclear Picture
2011 Phoenix Symposium: Some Answers, More Questions
MACS Trade Show Exhibitor List
Association News
Classified
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2011