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In this paper, the application of the separate sensible and latent cooling (SSLC) technology to the mobile air conditioning (MAC) system was investigated. Conventional MAC systems utilize a low evaporating temperature to cool down the cabin air temperature and to remove moisture from humid air. In order to remove the moisture, the supply air temperature has to be below the dew point temperature of the cabin air. Therefore, a reheating process is necessary to increase the air temperature to an appropriate and comfortable level. However, energy is wasted in this reheating process, which results in the reduction of the fuel efficiency. Since the SSLC technology can provide an appropriate solution to these issues of conventional systems, it is proposed to apply the SSLC technology to the MAC system, which can eventually reduce the fuel consumption of the MAC system.

In an electric vehicle, a maximum cruising range is adversely affected by electric power consumption of auxiliary electric components for heating and cooling. Therefore, it is important for the air-conditioning to consume energy as efficiently as possible. This study describes how a proposed Occupied-Zone(OZ) HVAC system has attained a significant increase in the cruising range of an electric vehicle by air-conditioning occupied seats only. The idea of OZ HVAC is to confine air-conditioning to occupied-zones only. The OZ HVAC has an option of selectively air-conditioning three zones corresponding to driver, passenger and rear seating positions, while a conventional HVAC system air-conditions a whole cabin regardless of occupancy in each zone, which results in more power consumption compared to the proposed idea.