| Abstract
| - The influence of air-conditioning activity on the emissionsand fuel consumption of passenger cars is an importantissue, since fleet penetration and use of these systems havereached a high level. Apart from the MOBILE6 study inthe United States, little data is available on the impact of air-conditioning devices (A/Cs). Since weather conditionsand A/C technologies both differ from those in the U. S.,a test series was designed for the European setting. A fleetof six modern gasoline passenger cars was tested indifferent weather conditions. Separate test series werecarried out for the initial cooldown and for the stationarysituation of keeping the interior of the vehicle cool. Asassumed, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption rise withthe thermal load. This also causes a notable rise in CO andhydrocarbons (HCs). Moreover, A/Cs do not stop automatically at low ambient temperatures; if necessary, they producedry air to demist the windscreen. A model is proposedthat shows a constant load for lower temperatures and alinear trend for higher temperatures. The initial cooldowntests highlight significant differences among cars but showthat A/C operation for the initial cooling of an overheatedpassenger compartment does not result in any extraemissions for the fleet as a whole.
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