Dometic Environmental Corp. is introducing at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., an expanded series of all-electric auxiliary air conditioning solutions that run on 12-volt power from the trucks’ batteries. The new all-electric HVAC systems are designed to provide clean, quiet and cost-effective cooling and heating without the need for a separate diesel auxiliary power unit.
“The all-electric systems meet the most stringent federal, state and local clean-air requirements,” says Lou Siegel, senior vice president of marketing and strategic business development for Dometic. “Since no separate diesel engine is required, they are quieter, use no fuel and produce no exhaust emissions. The installed cost is considerably less than that of an APU-based system, and maintenance costs are virtually eliminated.”
The Dometic all-electric package includes a 7,000 or 10,000 BTU split or self-contained air-conditioning system, a DC-AC inverter, a high-capacity alternator and optional shorepower pass-through. The company says the inverter converts the 12-volt battery output into 120-volt AC power to drive the air conditioner; while the alternator, which replaces the existing engine-mounted alternator, keeps the batteries fully charged whenever the truck is running. The optional shorepower connection can recharge the batteries and run the air conditioner whenever an outside AC power hookup is available.
Dometic’s split-system design consists of a condenser/fan unit mounted outside the truck and a compact evaporator/compressor/blower unit inside the vehicle, with quick-connect refrigerant linesets. The two units both are factory-precharged with refrigerant so that the entire system is charged to the correct pressure automatically when the linesets are connected, according to the company.
The Dometic air conditioners can provide built-in electric heat, and also can be integrated with fossil-fuel heating systems for supplemental heat as needed.
