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Old 12-31-2010, 06:25 PM   #9 (permalink)
mnmarcus
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: duluth mn
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Quote:
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...

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"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.

Quote:
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?

Quote:
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!
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