Thermo King® and Trane® are strategic brands of Trane Technologies—a global climate innovator that brings sustainable, efficient climate solutions to buildings, homes, and transportation. Energy efficiency and commitments to sustainability are also important to many public transits. As more transits move towards electric and other sustainable options for their vehicles, all the subcomponents of a system play a prominent role in the overall success of how a vehicle runs. This is especially true for All-Electric products, where a subcomponent’s efficiency will directly translate to the amount of range a bus can get.
With most zero-emission buses, the HVAC is likely the second-largest single electric load on the system. The refrigerant used within a system is the main component in how efficient a system will work. The catch is that not all refrigerants are recommended for all applications, so there is no “one size fits all” answer for any solution.
With the two main types of refrigerants used for bus HVAC systems (R134a and R407C), Thermo King uses both types and selects the refrigerant based on the application that it will be used in. For all-electric applications, Thermo King recommends the use of R407C, as it provides the most efficient results, especially in hermetically sealed systems.
One thing to note when researching your refrigerant options is that comparing capacity and efficiency numbers can be easily misleading. Not all testing environments and situations are the same, so it is imperative that all results and claims state the conditions in which they were measured and performed. That will provide a more transparent view of how each refrigerant performs and allow a more consistent comparison of all the data.
For more information contact your Thermo King dealer or Regional service and sales representatives.