Modification of Mobile Air-Conditioning Systems (MACs) for Small Electric Vehicle Conversion

Recently, the electric vehicle (EV) has become one of the most interesting next generation mobility technology. However, adoption of the electric vehicle is still limited to new vehicles. One promising alternative solution is to convert traditional engine vehicles into EV. In this study, mobile air-conditioning systems (MACs) of EV conversion are modified by replacing the original rotating compressor with an electrical air-compressor. Bench tests of both the original rotating compressor and the electrical compressor were performed. The results suggest that the original rotating compressor has a cooling performance of 3,927 W and compressing power consumption of 3,060 W, which gives a coefficient of performance (COP) of 1.28, while the new compressor has a cooling performance of 2,163 W and compressing power consumption of 770 W which gives a COP of 2.8. The efficiency of the new electrical compressor is about 2.18 times better than the original mechanical compressor because the mechanical loss of the original compressor was improved.