Webasto Launches Battery-Driven Off-Highway Cooling System

January 22, 2016 - Webasto, Fenton, Mich., will launch the Polar Cab ES cab cooling solution at the Bauma 2016 Show, April 11-17. The new system maintains cool cabin temperatures during wait/load time in hot, humid and full-sun conditions. Operators can now turn off their engines and keep comfortable, leading to fuel savings, idle reduction, and increased productivity.

The Polar Cab ES compliments the TS model, introduced last October, and featuring an exclusive thermal storage technology. Inside the storage core is a series of aluminum micro-channels, which route liquid refrigerant around a graphite honeycomb substrate impregnated with water. This substrate is capable of storing cold energy at an extremely high efficiency. Cold energy is transferred to the cab for on-demand engine-off cooling.

In developing the two off-highway operator comfort solutions, one battery-driven and the other featuring a one-of-a-kind thermal storage technology, Webasto’s engineering, research, and development teams identified the need in the off-road industry, said Dr. Rolf Haag, Webasto Thermo & Comfort North America president and CEO.

Webasto’s Polar Cab ES battery-driven electric cooling system offers a cooling capacity up to 7,000 BTU/h while maintaining low power consumption and includes a compact 24V variable-speed electric compressor, with no additional batteries required for operation.

The Polar Cab ES can be installed with one of two different aftermarket kit configurations. Operators can decide between a universal overhead compressor/condenser unit with evaporator (Oakland) or a universal vertical floor mounted compressor/condenser unit with evaporator (Osaka). Kits include refrigerant lines and fittings, mounting hardware, control unit and wiring harness.