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Air onditioner
Conditioner

Here is an introduction to the world's first Freon-free car air conditioner developed by DENSO, which
uses carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. It is used on the fuel-cell hybrid vehicle (FCHV) launched by
TOYOTA in December 2002.
 n Outline
1.1 Background
Most car air conditioners today use HFC134a, an alternative fluorocarbon that does not destroy the
ozone layer as Freon does. However, due to the considerable impact that HFC134a exerts on global
warming, research is being made on a refrigerant with fewer repercussions.
One of the candidate refrigerants with less impact on global warming is carbon dioxide (CO2), which was
adopted in our recent car air conditioner.

1.2 Advantages of Carbon Dioxide as a Refrigerant

Carbon dioxide's impact on global warming is 1/1,300th of the alternative fluorocarbon HFC134a.

Carbon dioxide is a non-flammable substance that exists in nature.

Carbon dioxide is manufactured by refining and distilling the gases that are discharged from chemical
plants. Unlike fluorocarbons, it does not require a new process for producing a refrigerant.

To ensure cooling performance, the flow rate (or weight) of the refrigerant that circulates in the refrigerant
cycle can be increased because carbon dioxide is a highly dense substance. To improve performance, a
compressor with a higher capacity can be accommodated in a given space.
With respect to the heating performance of the heat pump, a considerably larger volume of refrigerant
circulates through the cycle, which directly heats the air. Thus, this system offers a quick-heating
capability that is superior to the conventional hot-water type heater system that uses the heat of the
engine coolant.

o Components and Characteristics

2-1 Components
2-2 Measures Taken

(1) Generally, the air conditioning systems in Japan that use the alternative fluorocarbon HFC134a as
refrigerant are based on a receiver cycle. In a receiver cycle, the refrigerant storage device (called a
"receiver") is located at the high-pressure outlet of the high-pressure radiator (called a
"condenser").On the other hand, in the Freon-free car air conditioner that uses CO2 as refrigerant, the
CO2 remains a gas without becoming liquefied in the high-pressure side. Therefore, a refrigerant
storage device (called an "accumulator tank") is provided at the low-pressure side of the evaporator
outlet.
(2) Additionally, a heat exchanging device (called an "internal heat exchanger") is provided to increase
cooling performance. This device uses the refrigerant discharged by the evaporator to cool the
refrigerant discharged by the high-pressure radiator (called an "exterior gas cooler").
(3) Because the pressure of the CO2 refrigerant is about eight times higher than HFC134a, the
compressor is made to withstand a high-pressure load in order to prevent internal leakage.

(1) The TOYOTA FCHV does not have a hot water heating circuit because the amount of heat
discharged by the engine is very small. Instead, it uses a heat pump system in the air conditioning
system to heat the cabin.
(2) The FCHV operates with low noise and vibration because it is powered by electricity. Therefore, its air
conditioning compressor is a sealed, electric scroll compressor that excels in quietness and vibration.

p Composition and Operation

3-1 Composition
This system performs cooling, heating, and dehumidification operations. Two types of solenoid valves
(cooling solenoid valve and heating solenoid valve) are used to switch between the operations. The
inverter controls the flow rate of the refrigerant by regulating the speed of the electric compressor
3-2 Cooling
Here is a description of the flow of the refrigerant during cooling, heating, and dehumidification
operations.
► Cooling operation
The refrigerant passes through the compressor, interior gas cooler, cooling solenoid valve, exterior gas
cooler, internal heat exchanger, cooling electric valve (heating solenoid valve is closed), and the
accumulator tank, and returns to the compressor. The high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant
discharged by the compressor is cooled by the outside air in the exterior gas cooler and by the low-
pressure gas refrigerant in the internal heat exchanger. The refrigerant is expanded by the cooling
electric valve (heating solenoid valve is closed) and passes through the evaporator to cool the air. Then,
it separates into gas and liquid in the accumulator tank, and the gas refrigerant and oil return to the
compressor. (Although the high-temperature refrigerant passes through the interior gas cooler, the air-
mix door remains closed to prevent the refrigerant from warming the air)

3-3 Heating
► Heating Operation
While the air-mix door is open, the high-temperature, high-pressure refrigerant discharged by the
compressor warms the air which passes through the interior gas cooler. Then, the refrigerant is expanded
by the heating electric valve (cooling solenoid valve is closed), absorbs heat at the exterior gas cooler,
passes through the heating solenoid valve and the accumulator tank, and returns to the compressor
3-4 Dehumidification
► Dehumidification Operation
Both solenoid valves (cooling solenoid valve and heating solenoid valve) are closed. The extent of
dehumidification (the number of degrees Celsius to which the air should be cooled) is adjusted by the two
electric valves and the evaporator, and the extent of heating is adjusted by the interior gas cooler.