SAE International to Certify Vehicle Air Conditioners for Environmental Performance

WARRENDALE, PA (Aug. 23, 2005) - Ever been low on gas, stuck in rush-hour traffic on a warm day and wondered about the energy efficiency of your vehicle's air conditioner?

A new program to certify motor vehicle air conditioners announced today by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International is designed to answer such questions. Certification is available immediately for leak tightness as tested by SAE J-2727 (June 2005). Certification of energy efficiency will be available as soon as an SAE technical standard is approved in 2006. SAE certification uses the acronym "I-MAC" in reference to Improved Mobile Air Conditioning.

SAE certification supports the goals of the Mobile Air Conditioning Climate Protection Partnership to reduce refrigerant greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of fuel use to power air conditioning by at least 30 percent.

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) estimates that more than 5 percent of gasoline used in the United States is for vehicle air conditioning and that refrigerant emissions contribute a comparable amount to global warming.

"SAE and the mobile air conditioning industry are moving forward to help protect the climate. With industry and governmental collaboration, our SAE mobile air conditioning system activities have included cooperative research programs, and development of new technical standards meeting these new environmental goals," said Ward Atkinson, chair of the SAE Interior Climate Control Technical Committee.

The J-2727 certification will be conducted in a similar manner to the Certified Power program recently announced by SAE and the automobile industry. In that program, engine manufacturers determine horsepower from tests verified by a third-party witness to be in accordance to the SAE Test Standard. SAE maintains the official database of certified results, which is available to the public.

"SAE certification of reduced refrigerant leakage is a clear example of industry-government cooperation," said Stephen O. Andersen, EPA Climate Protection Partnerships Division. "This SAE milestone builds on the previous success of the partnership and is a welcome sign of the new climate protection technology that is now just around the corner."

The SAE I-MAC certification program will be guided by an international board of advisors including representatives of vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers and environmental authorities.

Experts who will serve on an interim technical board to help assure smooth and successful operation of the certification process include Atkinson; Andersen; Denis Clodic, Ecole des Mines de Paris; Paul Hughes, California Air Resources Board; and Rowland Hwang, Natural Resources Defense Council. In addition, representatives from the world automobile manufacturers, air conditioning suppliers and European governmental bodies have been invited.

(Source: SAE International)