Keeping Cool a Very Hot Topic

It’s a week when temperatures around the Greater Toronto Area are pushing well over 30 Celsius, and the humidity makes the region feel more like a swamp than a concrete jungle. So the comfort of air conditioning is understandably at the top of mind — especially among motorists limited to using 4/40 cooling systems (four open windows and 40 km-h).

“When it’s broke and it’s 1,000 degrees outside, that’s when they need it fixed,” says Kevin Fletcher, product manager for temperature controls at Blue Streak-Hygrade Motor Products. “Unfortunately, it’s when everyone needs it fixed.”

But the seasonal demand isn’t the only challenge of 2005.

The first heat wave of the season also brought home the harsh reality of a global R-134a refrigerant shortage that began to emerge late last year. Some Canadian businesses had simply been sheltered from the problem thanks to a cool 2004, which allowed them the opportunity to draw from existing inventories. Now that they’re placing new orders, however, the country’s jobbers have discovered just how expensive the refrigerant has become. Recent reports suggest that 10 kg containers of R-134a that were being sold for $115 in 2004 now cost between $200 and $400 at the shop level.

The shortage is the end result of a series of events. Two of the world’s largest R-134a plants, operated by Ineos and Honeywell, recently shifted to producing a more lucrative refrigerant used for other applications. Then a DuPont plant faced an unexpected shutdown.

Compounding matters is the fact that global manufacturers may be reluctant to add to their existing production capacity, since Europe is expected to gradually phase out the use of R-134a beginning with 2011 model year vehicles.

“Even when everyone is running in 134a, the seasonal surge is a lot larger than we can all manufacture,” adds Domenic Laconte, sales manager of Arkema’s Canadian fluorochemical division. Seasonal demands are usually met by reaching into inventory stockpiles. “There aren’t enough plants in place without that inventory level.”

The overall demand for the refrigerant also continues to grow. Just 10 to 15 years ago, fewer than 40% of vehicles were built with air conditioning, says Mark Pereira, Spectra Premium’s A/C product manager. “Now it’s 80% plus.”

That’s not just in North America. Seven Korean manufacturers include the systems in every new vehicle they build, adds Mike Rayhill, chief engineer for Delphi’s global HVAC system. And the gas is also needed for everything from aerosol cans to polyurethane foam.

For that matter, there may not be much of an incentive for R-134a manufacturers to worry about the shortage, Rayhill suggests. Is it much of a stretch to think that they’d embrace high prices and increasing demand?

To date, the market share of refrigerants that offer alternatives to R-134a can be measured in single digits, but senior Delphi research scientist James Baker wonders if more businesses will consider the different chemistry in the face of higher prices and limited supplies. Small traces of propane are already being found in supplies of recycled refrigerant–proof that it is being used.

“This shortage could bring about some real issues for servicing vehicles,” he says, referring to challenges that can relate to some of the other choices. “There hasn’t been a hell of a lot of work done. There’s no recovery, recycling equipment. No one knows how to handle it.” A return to mineral oils and materials that react to water could lead to internal corrosion that allows the substances to leak into the passenger compartment, he adds.

But Larry Parkinson of Deep Freeze Refrigerants suggests highly refined hydrocarbon refrigerants are actually superior to R-134a. The larger molecular structure is less prone to leaks, while the refrigerant can also offer better protection for O-rings and gaskets, he says.

“It works at lower head pressures,” which lessens the stress on some components, he adds. And unlike other refrigerants, vehicle owners can buy it without an Ozone Depletion Prevention Card.

Not everyone is sold on the idea.

“We follow the OE line. If the system came with R-134a in it, we suggest that’s the way the system has been built. GM or Ford or Chrysler haven’t approved any other refrigerant,” counters Blue Streak’s Fletcher. “I feel for the position the guy in the garage is in. If he can’t get the stuff, he has some difficult choices to make.”

Still, those worried about potential warranty implications are able to turn to hydrocarbon-friendly components. Duracool, for example, offers its own line of compressors.

There’s also the question of calculations required to determine the appropriate level of a charge because of properties that differ from R-134a, Fletcher says. “When you have to start guessing what you put in with a charge, there are mistakes that can be made.”

The fact that the aftermarket is selling refrigerant of any sort is a sign that A/C components are failing. Each automotive brand has its own challenges. Among the Big 3, failures in Chryslers might tend to involve evaporators, while GMs may be more likely to have condenser problems, some shops suggest. Fords, meanwhile, may lose the cooling gas because of failing seals.

In general, compressors tend to be the first components that need to be replaced because they’re the only mechanical elements in the A/C system, says Fletcher. And while some systems now incorporate cut-out switches to ensure internal parts always have the requisite supply of oil, “sometimes, by the time those work, the damage has already been done.”

Not unlike the oil lamp in a dash.

But there have been other component-related advancements.

Troubleshooting has been refined by touch probes that can ensure inlet and outlet temperatures are running within 5 degrees Fahrenheit of each other, and that compressor body temperatures don’t exceed 160 degrees F, Fletcher says.

“[And] in terms of heat exchangers, we’re constantly working to prevent atmospheric corrosion,” notes Delphi’s Baker, referring to improving alloys.

The decade-old shift from R-12 to R-134a has also made it easier to effectively lubricate internal components, he says. The old ozone-harming refrigerant used to combine with water from the air to create acids that ate away at parts such as heat exchangers. And forging and filling procedures have also improved to limit contaminants in the system.

Couplings have also improved, Baker adds, referring to tightening standards. Ultimately, it’s still a matter of fitting a rubber hose onto a pipe, but the connections are better than ever. And the simple O-rings sealing value-priced offshore products are being replaced by more sophisticated flat seal washers.

Advancements in other areas have presented challenges of a different sort.

“Everyone in our business is being pushed to reduce material costs, reducing gauge thicknesses for structural components on heat exchangers,” Rayhill says. That’s led to new maintenance challenges. Stones, for example, can chip away at thin condenser air centres, as well as tubes and heat exchangers.

“None of the OEs are willing to compromise packaging to add serviceability,” he adds. “We do not provide for in-vehicle heat exchange service without rolling the instrument panel back.”

And while the foundation of the systems has been relatively unchanged for several decades, there is one new component that needs to be considered during A/C service: the cabin air filter.

“I think for the most part [the cabin air filter] is probably still out of mind,” admits Bruce Richardson, marketing VP for ATP Inc. “But with a filter in there, if it gets clogged up, you are going to get a decrease in air flow sooner or later.”

Most need to be replaced every one to three years, or more often in dust-filled areas, but the task is much simpler than ever.

“A lot of people think they still have to tear the car apart to access them. [Today] they’re in a compartment that’s pretty accessible,” says Wayne Smith, product manager for filters at Affinia Canada (behind the Wix brand).

Some cabin air filters are even incorporating carbon as a tool to control odours.

That’s the system of today. The question that remains is whether air conditioning systems of the future may require a complete overhaul. European manufacturers, for example, are considering approaches that rely on carbon dioxide.

The related pressures approaching 2,000 psi would force manufacturers to re-engineer every component in an air conditioning system, Parkinson says. “There’s nothing you can salvage.”

That leaves the question of whether the market will turn to R-152a or other alternative refrigerants that are moderately flammable, perhaps requiring new valves to dump refrigerant into wheel wells in the event of leaks.

The choice is sure to be a hot topic of debate for some time.