Petrol costs are sky high, yet in the blistering heat of your summer holiday destination there is no 
alternative to turning up the portable air conditioner in your rental car, something which keeps you cool and looking fresh but eats up petrol like there’s no tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be nice if there could be a way to power an air conditioner, or indeed a mini-bar fridge in a brand new SUV with nothing more than the motion of the automobile?
The French, who occasionally have an inventive brainwave, have found a way to reclaim the energy from a vehicle’s shock absorbers to power car air conditioning units or automotive refrigeration (such as for ice trucks and the transport of perishable goods). But how does this clever invention work?
The system invented by a certain Christophe Verna and called ClimaVerna, works with a suspension compressor system that is comprised of a lever with one end attached to the chassis of the vehicle and the other attached to the moving suspension system. The lever pumps the refrigerant compressor so that an electrically operated compressor is no longer necessary and fuel is saved in the process. The system used for air conditioners can also be used to power a car heater, particularly in electrical recharge vehicles which don’t produce engine heat.
Christophe Verna illustrated the advantages of his ac invention for cars and said, “A suspension system is in perpetual movement and the suspension compressor is less expensive than a traditional compressor. More compressed gas is generated than is needed, so I can see a time when a compressor could power both the air-conditioning and the heating of a car. The biggest benefits will be with electric vehicles, as less drain on their batteries will give them a longer range”.
The air conditioning suspension system only works when the car is in motion so a battery will need to take over when the vehicle is stationary. Verna is collaborating with an engineering school in Bordeaux to fine tune the car air conditioner system.
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