I love being part of an industry that is constantly evolving. There is always new information to absorb, new skills to master, and new challenges to diagnose. Evolution, or technical advancement, within the automotive sector has many drivers – safety, design, fashion, consumer demand and environmental concerns, just to name a few.
Those of us in the automotive HVAC game are fortunate to have many influencing factors contributing to the everchanging animal that is the car AC system. Of course, there have been many critics along the way. Many resist change, foolishly misunderstanding the importance that change plays in the sustainability of any industry. Arguably, the favourite topic for the conspiracy theorists is in relation to the need for refrigerant change.
Ignoring the circumstances that have led to the industry-wide adoption of a new automotive HVAC refrigerant, and discounting for a moment any personal views, beliefs or theories, the fact remains that we are now in the early transitionary phase to R1234yf refrigerant.
A couple of months ago my workshop carried out its first R1234yf recharge. The circumstances that led to this occurrence reinforced just how important it is to embrace change and welcome the opportunities that change can bring.
The 2015-built Peugeot 308 had been involved in an accident that resulted in damage to the AC system. It was repaired beautifully and then sent to the sub-contractor to have the AC system re-commissioned. It was at that moment, the moment when the R134a couplers would not fit, that the realisation was made that this was “one of those new bloody systems”. This Peugeot was running R1234yf – the future had arrived.
As an early adopter, we were ready. What surprised me most is that almost no one else in our industry was. After a week of frantic phone calls by the repairer and the insurance company, no one even remotely nearby could be found with the equipment or refrigerant to sort out this Peugeot. Not even the dealer could help. The end result was an 800km round trip on a tilt-tray truck, to my workshop.
I was reminded of the early 90’s when we saw our first R134a system. We all knew R134a was coming, despite the nay-sayers and conspiracy theorists spending their time whinging instead of preparing for business.
As an industry, we have known for some years that R1234yf is coming, with CO2 close behind it. Today, vehicles with R1234yf are driving around our streets and some of them will soon be heading to your workshop.
Industry change brings with it enormous opportunity and if you don't make the most of that opportunity then someone else in your industry will.
The future has arrived – embrace it. It’s really not that bad.
This is an article that appeared in Paint and Panel Sep / Oct 2016.