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| The neutrality of this article is disputed.
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Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. | This article is about refrigerants. The Cool War is also a novel by Frederik Pohl. | THE COOL WAR |
| | Start: | June 2007 | June 2007 | | Opponents | Carbon dioxide (CO2): Supporters of the natural refrigerant CO2: Greenpeace, Deutsche Umwelthilfe, ixetic, Konvekta, SINTEF, Shecco (Alliance for CO2 Solutions) Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ...
Shortcut: WP:NPOVD Articles that have been linked to this page are the subject of an NPOV dispute (NPOV stands for Neutral Point Of View; see below). ...
Frederik George Pohl, Jr. ...
| Chemical blends: Supporters & producers of chemical refrigerants: Honeywell, DuPont Honeywell Heating Specialties Company Stock Certificate dated 1924 signed by Mark C. Honeywell - courtesy of Scripophily. ...
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, or du Pont may refer to: // E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the worlds third largest chemical company Du Pont Motors Gilbert Dupont, a French stock brokerage part of retail banking network Crédit du Nord ST Dupont, a French manufacturer of fine...
| | Mission | To promote the natural refrigerant CO2 in car air conditioning and reject the introduction of new untested chemical blends that will be more harmful to the environment. | To reject the refrigerant CO2 in car air conditioning, delay an industry-wide decision of carmakers, and develop new non-natural refrigerants. [neutrality disputed] | | Vision | To knock out 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. | ? | | The Cool War refers to the debate about the next-generation refrigerant in car air conditioning worldwide, with an ongoing dispute between the Alliance for CO2 Solutions supporting the uptake of sustainable CO2 Technology in passenger cars, and chemical giants developing new chemical blends.[1]
The Alliance and its supporters – scientists, NGOs and business leaders – urge the car industry to replace high global warming chemical substances with the natural refrigerant carbon dioxide (CO2, R744 / R-744) in car cooling and heating. This, they argue, would lead to 10% less car emissions, and knock out 1% of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.[2] If CO2 Technology is applied in other sectors, such as commercial and industrial refrigeration, heat pumps for water heating etc., it may even save up to 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases. “NGO†redirects here. ...
A refrigerant is a compound used in a heat cycle that undergoes a phase change from a gas to a liquid and back. ...
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ...
Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ...
Opponents of the Alliance claim that CO2 Technology is not cost-efficient and safe, hence seeking to postpone the global industry decision to be taken this summer to develop new chemical blends instead.
Background
The Cool War has emanated from the decision of the European Union to phase out the current high global warming refrigerant HFC-134a in car air conditioning from January 2011 onwards.[3] To comply with the legislation, carmakers have to decide today on a new refrigerant, as they typically need 3-4 years to develop and introduce a new car platform including the air conditioning system. The current total value of the car air conditioning market is estimated to be $14.5 billion in 2007. 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane, also called simply tetrafluoroethane or R-134a, is a refrigerant that has zero ozone depletion potential and thermodynamic properties similar to R-12. ...
Arguments for CO2 The Alliance for CO2 Solutions and its supporters agree that the refrigerant CO2 is: - More environmentally friendly: with the lowest Global warming potential (GWP) of all currently used and proposed refrigerants. CO2 does not deplete the ozone layer either. Since the carbon dioxide used in car air conditioning is a recycled industrial waste product it becomes environmentally neutral. Overall, using a CO2-based air conditioning system will reduce total car emissions by 10%, thereby sparing the planet 1% of total greenhouse gases.
- More technically ready: CO2 models have been developed and tested in all climates, being now ready for mass production. They are faster to heat and cool a car, and show a superior performance in over 90% of all driving conditions.
- More cost-efficient: As a refrigerant itself, CO2 is cheap and worldwide available. The servicing of CO2 systems will be less costly and less complicated than that for present systems. For the consumer the total cost of ownership is lowest with CO2 as it will significantly cut fuel consumption by the air conditioning device. Carmakers have to make an initial investment estimated at €20 per unit, with no additional costs once CO2 Technology enters into mass production.
Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. ...
Arguments against CO2 Opponents in The Cool War claim that CO2 Technology is more expensive than current systems and future chemical blends as it requires the design of completely new high-pressure systems where so-called “drop-in solutions” (the adaptation of current systems to new substances) would be more cost-efficient. Their second key argument is that CO2 is toxic, leading to suffocation in high concentrations.
Both arguments are challenged, however, by the Alliance for CO2 Solutions. According to the group the initial costs of CO2 systems will be around €5 higher than drop-in solutions. Over a car’s life cycle, however, CO2 air conditioning systems will be more cost-efficient than any currently used or proposed new chemical blends. (see Arguments for CO2). Regarding the issue of toxicity, CO2 has been classified as Safety Class A1 (low-toxic, non-flammable refrigerant) by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) [4] – the highest safety class possible. As the charge of CO2 to the air conditioning systems is very small (200-400 g) there is no realistic danger for the passengers, even in case of accidental release.
Latest & Next Steps In September 2007, the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) officially announced to use CO2 as the refrigerant in next-generation air conditioning. Other carmakers from Europe and the rest of the world may follow the German lead.
A working group at ACEA, the European carmakers’ association, is currently drafting a common position on the issue to be adopted across the whole industry by end-2007.
Positions
Media Coverage
References - ^ The Choice Today - New Chemical Blends or CO2
- ^ Car Air Conditioning & the Climate Change Challenge - Made Simple
- ^ European Directive 2006/40/EC relating to emissions from air-conditioning systems in motor vehicles
- ^ ASHRAE Standard 34
See also Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ...
A refrigerant is a compound used in a heat cycle that undergoes a phase change from a gas to a liquid and back. ...
Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected...
Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 450,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ...
Greenpeace protest against Esso / Exxon Mobil. ...
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