Impact of Vehicle Air-Conditioning on Fuel Economy, Tailpipe Emissions, and Electric Vehicle Range: Preprint

Vehicle air-conditioning can significantly impact fuel economy and tailpipe emissions of conventional and hybrid electric vehicles and reduce electric vehicle range, In addition, a new U.S. emissions procedure, called the Supplemental Federal Test Procedure, has provided the motivation for reducing the size of vehicle air-conditioning systems in the United States. The SFTP will measure tailpipeemissions with the air-conditioning system operating. Current air-conditioning systems can reduce the fuel economy of high fuel-economy vehicles by about 50% and reduce the fuel economy of today's mid-sized vehicles by more than 20% while increasing NOx by nearly 80% and CO by 70%.