Eco-friendly air con servicing from Waeco
Air conditioning (A/C) specialist Dometic, which provides servicing equipment via its Waeco brand, has outlined how its ASC Low Emission service units can help workshops avoid environmental damage while carrying out maintenance.
“Harmful refrigerant emissions into the atmosphere are a fact of life with conventional A/C service units,” said the company.
“This is where Waeco offers an eco-friendly, sustainable alternative with its Low Emission technology. Using a patented, four-step process, Waeco ASC Low Emission service units achieve a recovery and storage rate of close to 100 per cent.
“The obvious benefits are: close to zero harmful emissions into the environment, safer and healthier workplaces, and enormous cost savings.”
Refrigerant loss during A/C service most typically occurs in the phase when the refrigerant is extracted from the A/C compressor by means of the vacuum pump, says Dometic.
“Conventional service units lose between 30 and 60 grams of refrigerant during every service on a passenger car A/C system. This has a massive impact on the environment – because R 134a refrigerant is a genuine ozone killer.
“Its global warming potential (GWP) amounts to 1450 – almost ten times more than the maximum permissible GWP value of 150. A refrigerant loss of 30 grams corresponds to a CO2 equivalent of 60 kg, or the combustion of 22.75 litres of diesel fuel.
“The damage done to the environment is the same as that caused by a 414 kilometre journey with a diesel car featuring average consumption values.”
Waeco’s four-step process is said to ensure that even the refrigerant contained in the used oil can be recovered and reused.
“Additionally, the vacuum pump is connected to the internal refrigerant tank,” said the company.
“That means that virtually no harmful gas can escape into the atmosphere. As a useful side effect, the recovered amount of refrigerant can be exactly measured, which allows reliable conclusions to be drawn about the actual amount of refrigerant charged and thus about the tightness of the A/C system.
“In other words, Waeco Low Emission ASC service units also make a useful diagnosis tool.”
The A/C compressor oil recovered during service is collected in a patented container. Refrigerant contained in the oil cannot escape into the ambient air, but is safely released, via a pressure valve, into a hose that returns it to the internal refrigerant tank.
The technology is also used for the alternative, less harmful refrigerant R 1234yf, says Dometic, where it provides the same benefits in terms of sustainability, cost efficiency and work safety.
“This helps workshop operators to protect their staff and adhere to the mandatory maximum admissible workplace concentrations – i.e. the extent of R 1234yf emissions their service staff may be exposed to for the duration of a work life,” said the firm.
According to Waeco experts, the Low Emission technology is the only possible way to comply with strict legal requirements. Using the technology, harmful workplace emissions are reduced to a value close to zero.
The readers of German workshop trade journal Werkstatt aktuell have recently opted for Waeco’s ASC series to win ‘Best Brand 2020’ in the category of air conditioning service units for the sixth consecutive occasion.
Dometic noted customers’ “sincere praise” for selecting it in the vote, which is run in cooperation with expert organisation DEKRA, and sees readers of the journal asked about the leading brands in the commercial vehicle industry as well as their products and services.
“For many years, these air conditioning service units have been an integral part of automotive and environmental care and here they have been valued for their quality, functionality and sustainable economy,” said the company.
“The ASC units are very efficient when it comes to running costs and remarkably long service and maintenance intervals.”
Further information about the Waeco Low Emission service units for R 134a and R 1234yf A/C systems is available at the website.
