Battery Operated Air Conditioning System For Vehicles In Mines

Challenge Details

Temperature in  mines are relatively high and touches around 50 Deg C during summer. Currently, the vehicle engine is turned on to run the air conditioner in the driver’s cabin. Shift time of operation is 8 hours and total idle time for vehicle in a shift is around 3 hours. In this idle time, engine has to be kept running to keep the air conditioner ON. This eventually increases the fuel consumption and cost of operation. We are looking for a solution which does not require the engine to be running for keeping the air conditioner ON.  Following conditions should be met. 

1. Run existing Air conditioner(1.5 Ton) in the vehicle with existing battery (or with an added battery)
2. Install a new Air Conditioner which can run on existing battery satisfying the following requirements.

Requirements

1. The A/C system should be easy to maintain.
2. The solution provided should not decrease the usable size of the cabin.
3. The A/C system should not hinder other operations in the cabin.
4. The user should be able to adjust the temperature and the fan speed of the A/C.
5. The A/C system should be cost effective. 
6. The A/C system should be able to run for 30 mins, at a minimum and up to 3 hours maximum.
7. The A/C cooling capacity should be 0.5 ton or higher.
8. It should not require the engine running to operate the A/C.
9. The A/C should be compatible with the existing 24V (2 no’s of 12V) battery with capacity of 200AH and the alternator current – 75 Amps.