Electric Air Conditioning. Has anyone tried it? Was hoping to retro fit from a Volt

[Thisisyourcaptin]

I am very young here obviously. To the forum that is. I’m planning out my build as we speak and hope to call FF soon to place my order for a Cobra. One of the things I’d like to have is AC. Manly for foot well cooling as It wont be needed up top much. If I read correctly you can install regular AC, but you can not have a glove box, which I would like.

My current daily driver is a Chevy volt. It uses an electric AC system and I was hoping to retro fit it to the volt. The compressor is pretty small as they do not have clutch units. About the size of 2.5 pint glasses stacked next to each other. The rest of they system is much smaller too. I know the electric load is quite a bit higher. A 180-200 amp alternator would be needed if my research so correct. So under the hood might have a different alternator look to it. But They compressor could be hid in the trunk pretty easily.

For the engine I am planing on a Prestige Motor Sport Shelby FE big Block pretty much just like seen here. https://youtu.be/3rksPj1tu3o So HP needed for the alternator should not be an issue. Since the car will never see a track I am not worried about issues that may crop up from track use.

Thoughts?

Nate

[toadster]

sounds cool (no pun intended) I say pioneer it!

[Sigurd]

Perhaps there is something here you can use?

https://www.classicretrofit.com/en-us/collections/electric-air-conditioning

[john42]

I like this idea! I own 2 Chevy Volts myself. So shout out for the Volt-Cobra owners club! Membership = 2 now!

[CraigS]

I see no reason why you can't use an electrically powered compressor. There are plenty of them out there now in all electric as well as hybrid vehicles. But I don't think mounting it in the trunk would be a good idea. Ac systems push freon in a continuous loop, compressor, evaporator, condenser, compressor....The condenser is usually out in front of the radiator because it needs a constant supply of fresh air to work. Evaporator is in the dash area. Compressor is usually in the engine area so all the components are within 3 feet of each other. Not impossible, but running the freon all the way to the trunk and back is bound to have a negative effect on the AC efficiency. Also you would need to run hoses or tubes front to back which might be hard to hide.

[Avalanche325]

There were systems in the 50s (before my time) that were trunk mounted. Apparently none of them worked very well. I am sure the new stuff is a million times better. I would be concerned about hearing it running in the trunk, even with our loud cars. Compressors tend to make a rattling sound.

I mounted my heater blower behind the dash when I was building. I spent hours making a custom plenum. I turned it on.........then proceeded to rip it out. Way too noisy.

It sounds like an interesting way to do A/C.

[totem]

The air conditioning unit from a Chevy Volt, an other EV, is likely to run on high voltage 360/400V.

It will be difficult to power from a 12V alternator.

[Chopper]

I think it would be a very elegant solution to do electric AC in an FFR car. I'm not trying to be a nay sayer, but keep in mind AC units for electric cars don't need to combat engine heat the way they do in a combustion powered car. Also keep in mind that AC usage has a pretty drastic effect on the rage of most current EVs, which have large battery banks, not just a single 12v battery. I had seen this article in the past from Vintage Air. It was written in December of 2016, so it's possible things have improved since that time. However, I think it's worth considering even if it helps inform the best electric compressor implementation for these cars.

http://vintageair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Electric-Compressors.pdf

-Brandon

[Alan_C]

The article from Vintage Air on the use of an electric AC system is a good overview of the merits and drawbacks.
I have ridden in a AC equipped MK4 and I will sum up my experience, it didn't do much. The open cockpit and the air flow just washes out the effect of the air at any speed much above idle. The faster you go, the less the AC cools the occupants. So unless you intend to put a hard top on the car to contain the cold air, I would consider alternatives. Like seat heaters, if you can cool the seats in some way so that the occupants are being directly cooled by contact, then you will have a real benefit. I believe I read somewhere about cooled seats, IMO that would be the way to go unless you were building a coupe or enclosed hot rod.

[edwardb]

I can't make any comments about the suitability or installation of the Volt A/C system. But FWIW several comments about A/C in general for an open top Roadster. First, where are you located? Once you have enough posts, you can update your profile and add your location. In the meantime, would help to add to your question. Where you're located and the predominant heat and humidity during driving season will greatly affect your perceived comfort while driving. Here in Michigan, while we have a few hot days (like the last couple weeks) it's still relatively mild compared to other parts of the country and there just aren't many days that A/C is going to make a big difference in an open top Roadster. As long as we're moving, even on warm days, it's not uncomfortable at all. Second, and I make this observation all the time with new builders who seem convinced they have no choice but to accept there will be heat from the engine and hot footboxes. There's no reason your build has to be that way. There are multiple methods for insulating between the engine and cockpit, as well as insuring there's no hot air infiltration. Some even add fresh air vents into the footboxes. I've done non-powered vents. Others install powered vents. While by definition can't be any cooler than ambient air, keeping the air moving seems to be helpful. But bottom line, I've done three Roadster builds with carefully installed insulation and sealing. At no time has heat from the engine or hot footboxes been an issue. After many thousands of miles and a number of years. I will add heat from the sun on warm days, regardless of the actual air temperature, is the biggest single contributor and what wears us out first. Finally, I will second what someone else mentioned. If you plan to add a top at some point, that does change the equation. That would give the opportunity for heat and A/C (and defrost) to be much more effective and maybe even more necessary. We drive a Coupe now, and have the A/C on quite a lot. Makes a big difference and would be uncomfortable without it. Can't comment about cooled seats because haven't tried that. But have installed heated seats in all my builds and find they provide excellent comfort on cool days and in our experience can serve as a substitute for a space heater. But that's another discussion.

Good luck and welcome.

[Blitzboy54]

I second Paul’s point about the footbox heat. I’m only running a 306 so not nearly as large a power plant as most but I only get a light warmth from the cockpit. I once left the cover off of the top of the drivers footbox while making brake adjustments on a drive and it felt like I was in a blast furnace so the insulation really works well.

I’m always interested to see people do new things. Folks put all sorts of things in these cars they may or may not need. You may have more room in the engine bay than you think though. If nothing else you would be clearing the way for potential coup builders to do something different.

Also look up all the glove box mods. People have creatively moved the heaters and such to clear room for those too.

[Neeraj Ahluwalia]

I have an electric AC system in my 818. I am running a 12V compressor that I got on AliExpress. It has an inverter that converts to ~300VAC. It pulls a ton of power (~1.5kW) and I needed to upgrade the battery and alternator to support. In my opinion it was worth it as for the 818 it really simplified the AC hose routing as I didn't have to pass any from the back to the front. With the roadster I imagine a belt driven AC compressor would be more powerful and simpler to route as the engine is in the front.

[Rdone585]

Plan B
169892

[totem]

I have an electric AC system in my 818. I am running a 12V compressor that I got on AliExpress. It has an inverter that converts to ~300VAC. It pulls a ton of power (~1.5kW) and I needed to upgrade the battery and alternator to support. In my opinion it was worth it as for the 818 it really simplified the AC hose routing as I didn't have to pass any from the back to the front. With the roadster I imagine a belt driven AC compressor would be more powerful and simpler to route as the engine is in the front.

There is good junk on Aliexpress. Those appear to be feasible DIY solution.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32859273753.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.eee12781DtNo Ac&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.274681.0&scm_id=1007.13339.274681.0&scm-url=1007.13339.274681.0&pvid=5f6db999-a967-4175-b6f6-6aa431c5dabb&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.274681.0,pvid:5f6db999-a967-4175-b6f6-6aa431c5dabb,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238109%231935&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000010484604570%2 2%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%223339%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%21%21370.79%21%21%21%21%21%4 02101d1af16586697745507617e6bfb%211000001048460457 0%21rec

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000064575870.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.14126 17dQQqISy&algo_pvid=c96619dc-129e-4d47-887c-c32d4aa519ef&algo_exp_id=c96619dc-129e-4d47-887c-c32d4aa519ef-2&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000010495129379%2 2%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%21%21247.41%21%21%21160.09%2 1%21%402103255b16586696076365373e871e%211000001049 5129379%21sea

[Neeraj Ahluwalia]

There is good junk on Aliexpress. Those appear to be feasible DIY solution.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32859273753.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.eee12781DtNo Ac&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller&scm=1007.13339.274681.0&scm_id=1007.13339.274681.0&scm-url=1007.13339.274681.0&pvid=5f6db999-a967-4175-b6f6-6aa431c5dabb&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreThisSeller,scm-url:1007.13339.274681.0,pvid:5f6db999-a967-4175-b6f6-6aa431c5dabb,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238109%231935&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000010484604570%2 2%2C%22sceneId%22%3A%223339%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%21%21370.79%21%21%21%21%21%4 02101d1af16586697745507617e6bfb%211000001048460457 0%21rec

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000064575870.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.14126 17dQQqISy&algo_pvid=c96619dc-129e-4d47-887c-c32d4aa519ef&algo_exp_id=c96619dc-129e-4d47-887c-c32d4aa519ef-2&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2210000010495129379%2 2%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21CAD%21%21247.41%21%21%21160.09%2 1%21%402103255b16586696076365373e871e%211000001049 5129379%21sea

That electric compressor is almost identical to the one I got. They come with no instructions though, so some digging on the pinout is required. There are sets like the first link you posted, but with electric compressors as well - I would recommend that as it gives you the fittings.