Building Air Conditioning Units for Electric-Powered Buses

5-30-97
Harrisburg, Pa. --- The technology to provide air conditioning units for electric-powered buses is being developed by Trans/Air in Dallastown in cooperation with Penn State Harrisburg.

Andrew Lau, associate professor of engineering, and Peter Idowu, associate professor of electrical engineering technology, have teamed with the York-area manufacturing firm to produce an advanced climate control system (CCS) specifically for electric buses.

The ultimate goal of the project is to produce a genuine electric CCS that will totally satisfy the electric bus builders/users' needs. This presents a unique challenge unlike conventional vehicle air conditioning, which use the engine to power the cooling system.

"The most important component for electric power is the compressor," said Dr. Lau, who has been a professor at Penn State Harrisburg since 1984.

The second goal is efficiency because the on-board energy is limited, therefore the CCS unit must use as little energy as possible. Engine-driven systems are not generally designed for efficiency.

"The third goal or challenge is to create a lightweight system, which will help to ensure high efficiency," said Dr. Lau.

It is also important that the first prototype use heat pump heating and is environmentally friendly, totally self-contained, and easy to install and service.

"Electric buses are in use in some cities that are proactive," reported Dr. Lau. "Small cities use them in dedicated routes for travel from the airport to the rental car business, for instance."

California and Tennessee are two states currently using the vehicles, which were initially marketed four or five years ago.

"You will probably see them in urban areas where pollution is a problem," said Lau, who has a background in solar energy. "It requires state support for the buses to be used. If incentives emerged in Pennsylvania, we could see them in maybe five years."

The main benefit of this technology is that there are no pollution emissions, he said.

"The other thing that's important is that they don't use gasoline," Lau explained. "They use electric generated with coal or nuclear energy. So it's a round-about way to run a vehicle off coal or nuclear power."

The $283,000 project is partially funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Center of Pennsylvania, which is a state-supported program to promote the development of new technology and business within Pennsylvania. Trans/Air is a relatively small company with approximately 75 employees.

"This is the first time we've worked together on a project this large," said Lau, who has served as consultant for Trans/Air since 1986. "I'm their resource person to help with the latest developments as far as technology goes."

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Contact: Steve Hevner (717) 948-6272 (office) sdh4@psu.edu