Industry News
Visteon reports improved performance from R744 (CO2) air con system
10th September 2007
Visteon's latest application-ready R744 climate system consumes up to 25% less fuel than conventional R134a systems and enables a reduction of CO2 tailpipe emissions of up to 7g/km while operating the air-conditioning system. Visteon's system’s efficient operation helps to reduce the overall fuel consumption of a vehicle by approximately 0.3 litre per 100 km at the same cooling performance as traditional systems at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees C.
Visteon has so far delivered more than 30 prototype vehicles with R744 air conditioning systems across different platforms to more than 12 vehicle manufacturers. These vehicles and Visteon's own test fleet have been undergoing extensive trials in hot and cold climates.
"We have been developing R744 climate systems and components since 1999 and have achieved significant improvements in both system efficiency and cooling performance," says Nurdal Kucukkaya, Visteon vice president.
As a part of the system, Visteon has designed a new fitting technology called ‘VisCO2nnect’. Unlike conventional metal seal fittings, VisCO2nnect has a patented design which assures the required level of pressure and supports easy assembly and serviceability.
Visteon also has developed a range of compressors to support all vehicle classes from small and compact to luxury vehicles. Visteon is also working on future R744 applications supporting hybrid vehicles. The key component in this case is a compact electrical compressor, which allows for efficient package utilization and integration in parallel to conventional compressors. Visteon is actively working with various OEMs to develop a modular compressor, which can be easily adapted to mild and full hybrid applications.
Visteon said in 2005 that it would beat Valeo, Behr, Denso, Delphi and other competitors to the market with an air conditioning system using R744.
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