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In the modern era of commercial vehicle industry, passenger and driver comfort is one of the major parameters that improves vehicle running time which leads to fleet owner’s profitability. Air conditioning system is one such system whose primary function is to provide the required cooling inside the cabin in hot weather conditions. An Air-conditioned truck cabin creates a comfortable environment for the driver which increases his efficiency and reduces fatigue. An AC compressor consumes power directly from the engine affecting fuel economy and vehicle performance. With ever increasing demand for energy efficient systems and thermal comfort in automobiles, AC systems should be able to deliver the required cooling performance with minimum power consumption. Therefore, reducing AC power consumption in vehicles is one of the key challenges faced by climate control engineers.

The engine coolant temperature influences fuel consumption, power, emissions and mechanical load on the components. The optimization of these variables does not permit a fixed temperature value if there are different speed and load states. The optimization requires a temperature range that corresponds to each operating point. A conventional wax thermostat has a wide temperature control range. The start to open and full open temperature values depend on the mechanical properties of the spring and wax material. Hence, there is no control on the coolant temperature band in real time. This paper deals with the performance analysis & optimization of engine cooling system by using electronically controlled coolant thermostat for improving engine thermal efficiency. To integrate this technology with an existing engine, some design modifications have been made in the thermostat housing mounted on the engine cylinder head and radiator inlet hosepipe.