Whose got the most efficient Air conditioning?

[todayican]

I am in the hunt for the best air conditioning solution for my scratch built car, it will have an aviation "bubble canopy" and I live in Florida so Air will be a must.

Has anyone done any measuring as to which car has the best solution for turning hp into cold air?

[Frank Lee]

Ditch or coat the bubble to help cut solar gain

[todayican]

Will do, I spoke to some aviation guys who say trace a "roofline" on it and paint it black on the inside and white on the outside to mitagate the worst of it.

Its likely still going to need some mechanical help though, the plan is to use a treadmill motor running at pack voltage (about 100v) turning an automotive compressor tied in with its matching components (basically, finding an efficient setup then looking for one of that type car with air in the junkyard and salvaging all parts.

[Ryland]

Why not get a Danfoss compressor? they make some 12 and 24 volt compressors, they might even make higher voltage compressors and because the motor and compressor are sealed in their own houseing you don't have the losses from trying to make tight seals around your input shaft.

[todayican]

Last time I checked those things were Hella expensive :-0
Id like to get the air done with less then 2 or 300

[Piwoslaw]

I believe that the electric A/C in Toyota's Prius is more efficient than other automotive A/C's. There is a thread about it somewhere...

[Frank Lee]

That Leaf video said heating took lots of batpak power but a/c was nothing in comparison...

[todayican]

Found these...
Electric Blue Motors Products

[mnmarcus]

I am in the hunt for the best air conditioning solution for my scratch built car, it will have an aviation "bubble canopy" and I live in Florida so Air will be a must.

I've been planning/thinking about a from scratch built car for a while. I live in Minnesota so any solar gain could help in the winter, so I'm up for the bubble. My plan was a "curtain" that had a tint layer then a reflective layer...

------------------------
"glass"
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tint
------------------------ <- horizontal "curtain"
mylar
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I see a lot of those stickers on the backs of pickups that seem opaque from outside, usually hunting scenes. A white or silver version may help with solar gain. I think you can get them custom made from picures.

I'm hoping to include a hydraulic accumulator for regenerative braking and would look at using that for some "free" AC.

Will do, I spoke to some aviation guys who say trace a "roofline" on it and paint it black on the inside and white on the outside to mitagate the worst of it.

What about a coat of silver or white on the inside (of the glass) and then black on top (below?) of that?

Its likely still going to need some mechanical help though, the plan is to use a treadmill motor running at pack voltage (about 100v) turning an automotive compressor tied in with its matching components (basically, finding an efficient setup then looking for one of that type car with air in the junkyard and salvaging all parts.

Seems like that could work pretty well. If the volume of your car is small you could get away with a very small AC unit (either from a car or some other place- ex. window AC). I'm planning on building my car using extrude foam and fiberglass so I think I'll get a lot more R-value than most cars. Another idea I had was to make the seats like the Herman Miller Aeron chair, with a mesh fabric (no foam) for maximum ventilation (and minimal thermal mass). I was planning on piping hot and cold air into the seat so it warms or cools the passangers directly then the cabin itself.

Let us know how the build goes. Sounds pretty cool!

[Ryland]

Here is the Danfoss compressor I was thinking about, $225, runs off 12v DC.

Here is the google search for 24v danfoss As you can see there are a few other options, slightly higher in price but not to bad, you can find them used at salvage yard that deal with semi trucks.