SAE International Committee Seeks to Raise Awareness of New Mobile Air Conditioning Refrigerant and Systems

WARRENDALE, Pa., April 30, 2009; SAE International's Interior Climate Control Standards Committee has offered to help regulatory authorities supply information regarding the overall impact of the vehicle total mobile air condition system on the environment and the consumer.

The offer was made through letters sent to the Honorable Henry Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Honorable Edward J. Markey, chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Both congressmen co-signed a proposal to phase down the use of hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HFCs) in mobile air conditioning systems. Current systems use HFC-134a to provide cooling, but a new refrigerant - HFO1234yf - and mobile air conditioning systems with a much lower global warming potential (GWP), are being developed.

"We believe that we can help supply useful and relevant information to Chairmen Waxman and Markey, as well as other regulatory agencies and interested parties, regarding the overall impact of the total mobile air conditioning system," Ward Atkinson, chairman of the SAE International Interior Climate Standards Committee, said. "Our historical involvement with regulatory activity is evident, as SAE International standards are referenced and published in the U.S. Clean Air Act, as well as other local and state regulations."

For the past 10 years, SAE International Interior Climate Control Standards Committee members have been involved in the investigation of identifying various low GWP replacement refrigerants for HFC-134a. The committee members are experts from vehicle OEMs, tier one and tier two suppliers, service equipment suppliers, the service industry and independent test facilities.

SAE International is a global association of more than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion(R) and the Collegiate Design Series.