Vapor-compression systems are still the most widely used type of automotive cooling systems despite their high energy consumption and negative environmental effects. This article gives a review of the carried out developments and the future trends for this type of automotive airconditioning systems which have served vehicle occupants for more than 50 years. After going over a brief historical progression of the system, the circulating refrigerant developments were presented. Only few refrigerants meet the imposed attributes (e.g. zero ozone depletion potential, low global warming potential), and CO 2 as well as R1234yf have a big potential to be the future refrigerants. Then, the developments related to the other major system components were outlined. In this context, the future trends show that the scroll compressor besides the evaporator and the condenser having parallel flow and micro-channels are the most promising for the next generation of (air-conditioning) systems. Concerning the control of the compressor and the expansion device, the advanced electronic control is the most attractive for the future systems. This is due to its provision to better improvement for the airconditioning system performance. The present vapor-compression airconditioning systems still have some weaknesses despite their eminent achieved improvements. Models developed for airconditioning systems still have some shortcomings (e.g. low accuracy). Also, the test procedures for airconditioning extra fuel consumption are still not worldwide in all aspects. Therefore, more efforts should be made to solve these problems.
A detachable, automotive solar system for water and passenger compartment heating is developed. The study shows that an adjustable 1 m2 solar collector is sufficient to satisfy the needs of a small group during a short camping trip in Saudi Arabia desert. Also it is found that an adequate water temperature in the storage tank, due to ambient solar heating, is maintained in all cold months, except December when it is insufficient. Among the advantages of the system is its entire operation on renewable solar energy and its ability to heat the car compartment whenever the heated water reaches the required temperature and solar energy is still available.
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