Occupant Comfort Requirements for Automotive Air Conditioning Systems

This paper will describe - 1. Occupant comfort levels of 7 production vehicles when evaluated under “real world” owner test conditions, 2. Effect of film on glazing surface for interior vehicle temperature.

The stylist who designs vehicles to sell must consider what imposition they have placed upon the a/c engineer. Tumble home glass surfaces and large areas increase the greenhouse effect on passenger comfort, whether it is in Michigan or the Southwest desert.

Today, the automotive industry is a world market and the products must meet the demand of the owner. Sun Test Engineering has run an a/c evaluation program to determine their level of performance on various a/c products in Phoenix. Arizona the last several years. In the summer of 1985, 17 vehicles were evaluated for customer usage test and the results of 7 vehicles are present in this paper. Additional test programs were conducted on the effect of film applied to the glazing surface.