[ausev] Electric AC maintaining cool in a Civic

[William Gooch]

Although I like the concept, from what I've now read about it in 
follow-up to your suggestion, I think the Honda system would be 
difficult to incorporate for a couple of reasons.  The main issue is 
that there are two separate compressors in that system - a mechanical 
scroll pump connected to the ICE, and a small electric pump in another 
part of the car - and the controller for the pair appears to be 
moderately complex.  Apparently neither compressor by itself is capable 
of fully cooling the car in hot conditions, and hence the ICE sometimes 
runs strictly to turn the mechanical compressor for cooling purposes.  
So I think the electronics of the controller and sensors from the Honda 
would be critical components in such a setup.  Overall the cost of both 
compressors plus those electronics might not be a lot less than the 
electric Masterflux system, and the complexity of installation, 
operation and maintenance for the Honda setup is likely to be much 
greater.  A second issue is that my intention is to run a 120V traction 
system at least initially, and the electric compressor in the Honda is 
144V (it may perhaps work at 120V as well, but I'm not sure).

In a 144V system, it seems possible that the electric compressor from 
the larger Honda Accord hybrid might be able to adequately cool a 
smaller car like my MR2 without help from a mechanical pump.  This could 
be a good way to reduce the cost of converting to all-electric AC for 
some projects, if it works well and if you can find the parts - I've 
found the mechanical compressor available on the web, but not the 
electric one.

Bill

ausev-request at austinev.org <http://www.austinev.org/mailman/listinfo/ausev> wrote:
/ 
/

    Dan Petit Wednesday Feb 11, 7:12 PM.
    The reasons I believe it to be worthwhile to investigate the dual
    scroll Honda Mechanical/Electric compressor is because the Mechanical
    side purges the built-up heat and the electric side maintains the
    comfort level. Running the mechanical side off the other side of the
    traction motor momentarily will not greatly tax the pack. As well,
    the opportunity for A/C regenerative braking is the more efficient use
    of latent energy to slow the vehicle down. (This would offset the
    slower air flow into the condenser to a great extent once the
    vehicle is
    stopped for awhile at a traffic light.) In addition, software could
    keep even the electrical side from operating at 100 percent pulse-width
    during accelerations.
    The design is calibrated for the interior volume of a Civic of course,
    but most EV conversions are approximately the same interior volume.
    Dan Petit

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