Air conditioner in automobiles using exhaust gases / refrigeration using waste heat from ic engine:
"horrifically inefficient":
You're using heat that is normally wasted.
Therefore, inefficient or not, you are increasing the efficiency of the car/system as a whole vs NOT using the waste heat for anything.
Question is:
Is the (cooling) power to weight ratio comparable to a stock system, or does it weigh more to the point where you burn more fuel lugging the system around vs a stock system + the engine power reqd to turn the compressor..?
Looking at the vid; I think not, but thats a guess.
Personally:
The
Pyrolysis of waste plastics, then feeding the gasses into the intake, seems to be the best use of waste exhaust heat at typical car exhaust temperatures...