AUSTRALIAN dealers are on notice this year as they introduce a new, environmentally friendly car air-conditioning refrigerant that was the subject of a damning video by Mercedes-Benz and a verbal sparring match between the German company and French authorities.
In spite of the vigorous campaign by Mercedes to attempt to have the new airconditioning gas rejected by regulators, Mercedes will be one of the first car-makers to adopt the refrigerant here after installing special equipment to address the safety issues it was worried about.
The argument took place in 2013 when French authorities banned the sale of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles because the car-maker claimed the new mandated gas was dangerous. It claimed the gas was more inflammable than the then current gas and would cause explosions in an accident.
Mercedes issued a video of a test in which the engine bay of a car burst into flames when sprayed with the new refrigerant, but the maker of the refrigerant said the test did not reflect a real-world accident.
A/C – Table – Click to enlarge
A French court subsequently quashed the government ban on the sale of Mercedes cars.
Now the controversial refrigerant – called R1234yf – is coming to Australia and Mercedes-Benz is progressively fitting it to all but two models.
The R1234yf gas will replace the hydrofluorocarbon R134a – a change proposed about 10 years ago as a move to further reduce harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. See table above.
Though significantly less harmful to the atmosphere than the refrigerant used before R134a, the chlorofluorocarbon-based R12 that was banned in 1996, it still has a global warming potential of 1430 times that of CO2. By contrast, the new R1234yf is four times that of CO2.
Europe has banned R134a in all cars from 2017 and approved R1234yf. The US will ban R134a from 2021.
Australia uses R134a on all new cars except for some Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, Citroen, Chrysler and Jeep models, which have R1234yf.
In a further twist to the Mercedes story, the company has said the R1234yf gas will be used in all 2017 model cars except the E-Class and S-Class.
In E-Class and S-Class models, Mercedes proposes to use an even more benign refrigerant that is based on carbon-dioxide and referred to as the CO2 refrigerant R744. This is particularly important because on contact with air, it takes only a few days to break down.
Since 2013 when Mercedes-Benz refused to embrace R1234yf over owner-safety concerns, despite a mandate by the European Commission (EC), the company has designed a string of safety measures.
These include patenting a way to isolate the refrigerant from hot engine parts in the event of an accident. With the safety issue addressed to its satisfaction, it has agreed with the EC to use the gas on future vehicles until a better solution is found.
Part of this agreement is based on the ready availability of R1234yf and the fact it is the only one favoured by the EC.
However, Mercedes is working on ultimately using the R744 CO2 refrigerant in all its cars. The gas is used on large commercial refrigeration coolrooms and the current problem is poor supply from global manufacturers.
Mercedes-Benz Australia/ Pacific senior manager of public relations, product and corporate communications David McCarthy said the CO2 gas is intended for the E-Class and S-Class models.
“Mercedes-Benz is one of the first to order the new CO2 air-conditioning refrigerant but it is limited in supply,” he said.
“In the meantime we have put all safety measures in place and feel confident about using the R1234yf refrigerant.”
He said there was no date for the introduction of the CO2 refrigerant into Australia because of the small volume available globally.
“It is regarded as being very efficient and very environmentally friendly,” he said.
He said the CO2 gas would be fitted first to the E-Class that will be launched in Australia later this year.
The problem with R744 is that its CO2 base needs 10 times the pressure in the airconditioning system than R134a gas.
That means the entire air conditioning system has to be built to cope with the pressure, making it impossible to use in an existing system, and will make it very expensive to produce and service.
By Neil Dowling on 28th April 2016 Comment, Technology A/C, Air Conditioner, Co2, R1234yf
In spite of the vigorous campaign by Mercedes to attempt to have the new airconditioning gas rejected by regulators, Mercedes will be one of the first car-makers to adopt the refrigerant here after installing special equipment to address the safety issues it was worried about.
The argument took place in 2013 when French authorities banned the sale of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles because the car-maker claimed the new mandated gas was dangerous. It claimed the gas was more inflammable than the then current gas and would cause explosions in an accident.
Mercedes issued a video of a test in which the engine bay of a car burst into flames when sprayed with the new refrigerant, but the maker of the refrigerant said the test did not reflect a real-world accident.
A/C – Table – Click to enlarge
A French court subsequently quashed the government ban on the sale of Mercedes cars.
Now the controversial refrigerant – called R1234yf – is coming to Australia and Mercedes-Benz is progressively fitting it to all but two models.
The R1234yf gas will replace the hydrofluorocarbon R134a – a change proposed about 10 years ago as a move to further reduce harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. See table above.
Though significantly less harmful to the atmosphere than the refrigerant used before R134a, the chlorofluorocarbon-based R12 that was banned in 1996, it still has a global warming potential of 1430 times that of CO2. By contrast, the new R1234yf is four times that of CO2.
Europe has banned R134a in all cars from 2017 and approved R1234yf. The US will ban R134a from 2021.
Australia uses R134a on all new cars except for some Mercedes, Jaguar, BMW, Citroen, Chrysler and Jeep models, which have R1234yf.
In a further twist to the Mercedes story, the company has said the R1234yf gas will be used in all 2017 model cars except the E-Class and S-Class.
In E-Class and S-Class models, Mercedes proposes to use an even more benign refrigerant that is based on carbon-dioxide and referred to as the CO2 refrigerant R744. This is particularly important because on contact with air, it takes only a few days to break down.
Since 2013 when Mercedes-Benz refused to embrace R1234yf over owner-safety concerns, despite a mandate by the European Commission (EC), the company has designed a string of safety measures.
These include patenting a way to isolate the refrigerant from hot engine parts in the event of an accident. With the safety issue addressed to its satisfaction, it has agreed with the EC to use the gas on future vehicles until a better solution is found.
Part of this agreement is based on the ready availability of R1234yf and the fact it is the only one favoured by the EC.
However, Mercedes is working on ultimately using the R744 CO2 refrigerant in all its cars. The gas is used on large commercial refrigeration coolrooms and the current problem is poor supply from global manufacturers.
Mercedes-Benz Australia/ Pacific senior manager of public relations, product and corporate communications David McCarthy said the CO2 gas is intended for the E-Class and S-Class models.
“Mercedes-Benz is one of the first to order the new CO2 air-conditioning refrigerant but it is limited in supply,” he said.
“In the meantime we have put all safety measures in place and feel confident about using the R1234yf refrigerant.”
He said there was no date for the introduction of the CO2 refrigerant into Australia because of the small volume available globally.
“It is regarded as being very efficient and very environmentally friendly,” he said.
He said the CO2 gas would be fitted first to the E-Class that will be launched in Australia later this year.
The problem with R744 is that its CO2 base needs 10 times the pressure in the airconditioning system than R134a gas.
That means the entire air conditioning system has to be built to cope with the pressure, making it impossible to use in an existing system, and will make it very expensive to produce and service.
By Neil Dowling
Road to Recovery Podcast Series
Dealers spearhead EV charger rollout
EV charger investment to exceed $1b, says AADA report
VACC workshop incentive plan for EV growth
Submission calls for new funding sources to promote EV use and workshop skills
Accessories risk in NVES
AAAA CEO highlights unintended consequences of accessories in NVES policy