Application of Energy Efficient Scroll Compressor for Small Cars

The AC compressor becomes the focal point of any energy efficiency improvement initiative in automotive climate control systems as; it is the single largest consumer of energy. The objective of this work is to evolve a methodology to assess the potential of energy efficiency of compressors through experimental evaluation. The methodology consists of; a) performance evaluation on compressor calorimeter b) bench testing under ‘moderate’ and ‘severe’ test conditions c) verification of power consumption on a test vehicle. The main theme is, to reduce compressor load by using an energy efficient compressor; without compromising on cooling capacity and changing the other aggregates in the AC system. This paper critically assesses the comparative performance of a reciprocating and scroll compressor having different displacement, internal construction and compression mechanism. Bench test results with the scroll compressor demonstrate that, power consumption reduces up to 25.3% and cooling capacity is up to 5% higher. This indicates that it can be a good option for small cars.