DALLAS, Tex. — At the Great American Trucking Show (GATS), Dometic Environmental showcased its new battery-powered auxiliary air conditioning systems that are 100% compliant with the clean-air requirements of the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Dometics battery-powered solution is exempt from the CARB regulations, since it has no internal combustion engine and produces no emissions, said Lou Siegel, senior vice-president of marketing and strategic business development with Dometic. We have devoted a great deal of engineering resources to developing, fine-tuning and testing this technology. We are confident we have a practical, reliable and affordable solution that can keep the driver cool for 10 hours or more, while reducing fuel consumption and emissions to zero.

Dometics system runs on 12V power from a bank of absorbed glass mat (AGM) Group 31 batteries, with a 2,000 Watt DC-AC inverter that converts the battery output to 115V power to run the air conditioner.

The turnkey package also includes a high-capacity alternator with external regulator, which is designed for rapid recharging of the batteries.

Although shorepower connections are not yet widely available, we believe that we will see more of them installed at terminals and truck stops in the future, said Siegel. Our standard inverter contains a 115V pass-through circuit and 50 amp charger to run the air conditioner and recharge batteries when connected to shorepower. We also offer an optional inverter-only model for applications in which shorepower hookups are not needed.

The systems are offered in 7,000 and 10,000 BTU capacities. The product line includes self-contained package units and split systems with an external condensing unit. The patented split systems use reusable refrigerant linesets with quick-connect fittings.