According to the Cooling Post, Japanese air conditioning company, Daikin, has developed a new refrigerant blend that will help to make electric cars more efficient. They say the new blend is a more efficient alternative to R1234yf found in electric vehicle (EV) heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
The new development gas, simply named D1V140, is designed to reduce the energy pull of the heating and cooling systems in electric cars. As a result, this will improve the vehicles’ range.
While internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles can use the engine waste heat for heating the interior, an electric car has to use power from the battery.
Research has found that the capacity of a R1234yf vehicle heat pump system reduces by up to 40 percent when the ambient temperature drops from 0℃ to -10℃. This is recognised by electric carmakers as a drawback in colder climates.
The new Daikin refrigerant blends R1234yf with 23 percent of a new hydrofluoro-olefin refrigerant HFO1132(E). Little is known of HFO1132(E) but it’s thought to have a global warming temperature (GWP) of three. Daikin says it is less than one.
Early assessments have found that the refrigerant offers a good performance for heat pump function in electric cars in cold locations. It also works well in terms of cooling performance in warmer climates.
Daikin are working with the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to confirm the safety and performance of the new blends. Both the blend and HFO1132(E) were submitted last month for registration to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ).
This is a great development in terms of making electric cars and vehicles more efficient, especially in areas with hot or cold climates.
