09 Civic Hybrid in AZ

[03sl500]

Greetings fellow Ecomodders',

I'm new to the site, and have enjoyed reading some of the different approaches to saving on fuel consumption. A little about the use of my car, it is 90% business use. I have logged just over 32k in 16 months of ownership. Unfortunately, I don't have the greatest MPG figures to share, primarily driven by using the A/C most of the time (leaving the climate control on auto varying the temp depending on the season).

Since I do use the A/C to prevent sweating in my work clothes, I would like to know if anyone has insulated the low pressure A/C line (cold line) from the compressor to the firewall, and if so has it made any difference in the effectiveness of the 15 cc electric hybrid A/C compressor cooling retention capacity during the Autostop operation?

Thanks,
Jason

[RobertSmalls]

Welcome, Jason. The only very cold line is the one from the expansion valve to the evaporator, which I'd imagine is already insulated and very short. I guess you could insulate the return line from the evaporator to the compressor, but that one's probably lukewarm anyway.

I envy your A/C compressor, and there's no reason why it shouldn't run during auto stop. If it does shut off during auto stop, you should modify that behavior. By the way, where is the compressor mounted in that car?

You should also take measures to reduce your A/C use: a sun reflector in that expansive windshield of yours, breathable seats such as those from an Insight, a light colored paint job, and these:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ings-8725.html

[03sl500]

Robert,

Thanks for the response, the electric compressor does run while in autostop mode, however it seems to be overwhelmed by air temp both inside and out. The auto selection does a good job of managing the modes whether recirc or fresh but the cooling capacity seems to diminish after the belt driven compressor is de-energized.

I'm looking for a way to retain the cooled freon as it passes by the passenger wheel area, belt side of the engine back to the firewall which is really close to the exhaust manifold-cat area. The dual compressors are manufactured into a single unit and it is mounted at the bottom end the engine in the front behind the radiator area.

[SVOboy]

Welcome to EcoModder.

As usual I will mirror Mr. Smalls' advice.

However, I might also note that this is probably a case of efforts better spent elsewhere, at least until more of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked