Consumers have been purchasing green transportation over the
last two decades for a variety of reasons. The business-savvy CEO in L.A. might
have picked up a hybrid for the great tax benefits. Meanwhile, the family man
on the East Coast could have visited their South New Jersey Chevy dealer to
make a responsible decision for the environment. While electric cars are making
a difference in the U.S. in terms of gas usage, recent discoveries about the
air conditioning units of some of these vehicles have raised the alarm.
The Nissan Leaf and Tesla Roadster both use a "super
greenhouse gas" known as HFC 134a as the refrigerant in their air
conditioning units. This has been raising red flags in the green community,
because the coolant is not only dangerous to the environment, it's extremely
powerful; it traps 1,400 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 100-year
timeline upon its release into the atmosphere. This means that cars being sold
specifically to eliminate climate change carry a hairspray-sized canister
loaded with a chemical that drastically increases the warming of the earth.
Unfortunately, air conditioners are common culprits of
environmental pollution, with as much as half of the current HFC emissions
coming from car ACs. This discovery has caused several auto manufacturers of
traditional gas-powered cars to use a different coolant called HFO 1234yf,
which is much more eco-friendly. Now, experts say it's time for electric
automakers to follow suit. So far, out of 16 electronic models in the U.S.
market, only two (Chevy's newest Spark model and the newly leasable Honda Fit)
have switched over to the HFO 1234yf.
There has been some hesitation among car manufacturers to
fully commit to the HFO 1234yf because it is quite expensive. While the U.S. is
still ironing out the issue, the European Union has already banned HFC 134a for
any newly redesigned or re-engineered vehicles this year. It is their plan to
incorporate this ban permanently on all vehicles created in 2017 and beyond.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is weighing the benefits of a similar
ban; however, there is nothing currently on the table, legally speaking.
So whether you
plan on visiting our South New Jersey Chevydealer for gas models that use HFO 123yf or you want to make a step up the eco-friendly
ladder to a hybrid, the next time you are in the market for a new car, pay
attention to what exactly you are putting into the air each time you turn on
that AC.
Labels: South New Jersey Chevy