International. During an event held in the Belgian city of Kortrijk, Busworld attracted almost 35,000 visitors and some 411 exhibitors from the automotive industry. There, Bitzer launched its new compressors for automotive air conditioning (MAC) applications capable of using R290 (propane).
While the company has, and continues to research CO2 for MAC, the possible introduction of propane as another natural refrigerant for the application, could forecast a new future for mobile air conditioners.
The new lines of scroll compressors - the ELV21 and ELV51 are designed for mobile applications with a double functionality to work in heat pump applications.
"Other natural refrigerants are under discussion, for example CO2. Propane is really a niche product at the moment. But I think the efficiency is much higher than CO2 and the problems we have with high pressures in transcritical CO2 applications are not there," said Oliver Rathfelder, Bitzer's director of sales.
As Rathefelder mentioned, the properties of hydrocarbons are conducive to high efficiency at all temperatures, but Bitzer has taken other innovations for its new compressors in order to work at an optimal level. Including the use of a frequency inverter for the compressor.
"An electrically operated scroll compressor with a frequency inverter allows for a completely new system design with compact dimensions, a low amount of refrigerant and increased system efficiency." In addition to being smaller and lighter, the inverter also allows for quieter operation without sacrificing performance," said Rainer Grosse-Kract, Bizter's chief technology officer.
