strange question about aircon
- Thread starter xraycat87
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Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
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- 38,367
What about those that prefer it to be cooler in summer and hotter in winter?
Your body handles hot and cold environments differently.
If I left mine on 20c in summer I'd be too hot. If I left it at 18c in winter I'd be too cold.
I adjust the temperatures to suit the current climate. On a day like today I'd set it to be 17c instead of 18c.
Setting it to 1 temp all year round isn't comfortable for me. Its also why I have 2 different temps for my home thermostat for summer and winter.
I don't mind the house being a little colder in summer and I prefer it to be a bit warmer in winter.
I have a nest thermostat as well so I can ensure it's at the perfect temp for when I get home.
Your body handles hot and cold environments differently.
If I left mine on 20c in summer I'd be too hot. If I left it at 18c in winter I'd be too cold.
I adjust the temperatures to suit the current climate. On a day like today I'd set it to be 17c instead of 18c.
Setting it to 1 temp all year round isn't comfortable for me. Its also why I have 2 different temps for my home thermostat for summer and winter.
I don't mind the house being a little colder in summer and I prefer it to be a bit warmer in winter.
I have a nest thermostat as well so I can ensure it's at the perfect temp for when I get home.
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I'm surprised you even have the heating on in summer at home. Unless you have home AC in which case I'm jealous
Pretty sure it maxes the fan (beyond the fans normal "oh you want 18" speed) and sets the air to recirc. None of that happens when you leave it. This is how the CC behaves in all the cars I've had. "Lo" and leaving the car at 18 or 20 have different fan speeds, plus the recirc = cool car, quicker. You could noticeably hear the fan speed difference in the M5 between 18 max fan and Lo.
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Whereas I'm pretty sure mine goes just as berzerk for a few minutes, effectively emulating someone doing just this. I'm not convinced by the recirc either - surely the outside air is, while still warm, cooler than the super-heated furnace interior of the car?
Initially it will be, but by using recirc you are in effect chilling chilled air after a short time, then chilling chilled chilled air, etc.
That said, any decent climate system will automate recirc for exactly this reason.
Which is exactly what it does in a car that's 30c and switched on when the requested temperature is 18.
True enough.
I must admit I've never seen the recirc button light up on mine, but that doesn't mean it doesn't do it 'behind the scenes'.
I have no qualms about how effective my CC system is though. It works well without being intrusive.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 21 Jun 2006
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I'm surprised you even have the heating on in summer at home. Unless you have home AC in which case I'm jealous
It was snowing here last month if i recall correctly. The climate in Scotland is roughly 10c below englands on average today is a great day for us however the heating was on 2 days ago.
Incorrect, air recirc does not engage if you leave the cc alone. You have an F10 right? In fact, probably any car with modern cc, has a max or Max AC button. Tell me, what purpose does this button serve? It appears it's largely pointless in your scenarios, yet one press the temp drops, the fan ramps up and the air auto recircs, because apparently, that button doesn't really do anything
Are you referring to all cars, or just your own? Because I've owned 4 cars with climate control, and all of them have done so. Of my current cars, neither has a Max AC button; they control the recirculation automatically, enabling it if the air inside the car is much warmer than the set temperature, and disabling it once the temperature has been lowered.
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Really? Very strange. M5 (Max A/C), Disco 4 and Disco 5 (Mac A/C), Audi S6 (Max A/C). None of them recirc unless either manually told to do so, or max AC is set.
5 Series (1m15 onwards)
3 Series (1m onwards)
After this, I got bored of posting videos, but Velar, FFRR, Disco all had a Max AC that performed the same function. Although here is a pic of the Disco last night for reference. I got in the car at 18:30, the outside temp was around 26c, goodness knows what the inside was. I left it on 18, and at no point did recirc engage. The fan just ramped up to annoying volume for most of my journey. Something that would have been less annoying if I had set Max A/C because I would have been able to return the car to 18 much quicker, meaning lower fan speed.
The principle of a Max A/C button is to set a higher fan speed in recirculate mode. Hence, cooling the car quicker before selecting your desired normal temp. In some cars with a Max AC button, it will also adjust the AC compressor cycle to off around 3-5C lower than normal setting.
I don't see how you'd ever know if it was.
The system is designed to rapidly cool the car to the selected temperature in the most comfortable and efficient way possible. Do you really think they'd have accidentally designed a system that didn't properly allow for cooling a car parked in the sun?
A good system should require no user input beyond initial preference setup. I rarely touch mine, in the depths of winter it quickly heats the car to 21c and when returning to the car on a sunny day it quickly cools it back down to 21c. No manual intervention is necessary to achieve either of these and neither should it be.
It has been designed by people who have forgotten more about the operation of HVAC than either of us will ever know - they've hardly forgotten to ensure it can easily and quickly cool a hot car.
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I completely agree with what you're saying, yet the Max AC button isn't there like some bad IKEA prop. It's been designed in for a reason.
To keep people who can't grasp A/C and Climate Control from complaining?I completely agree with what you're saying, yet the Max AC button isn't there like some bad IKEA prop. It's been designed in for a reason.
None of my cars have a Max A/C button (S3, TT, Yeti), nor did any of my previous (2013 A4, 2008 A6, 2003 330d, etc)
My girlfriend is one of these people. Gets in the car, if it's hot, immediately sticks the temperature to it's lowest setting. Eventually, we end up freezing. If it's cold, whacks the temperature right up, and eventually we end up cooking.
I've explained several times that neither has any effect on the speed that the temperature changes, but it always falls on deaf ears.
I've explained several times that neither has any effect on the speed that the temperature changes, but it always falls on deaf ears.
Can't help you there. Perhaps age /spec related because even the crappy old E39 had a Max AC button.
I completely agree with what you're saying, yet the Max AC button isn't there like some bad IKEA prop. It's been designed in for a reason.
I leave the climate control set at 20c and auto all year round in my F30 and just adjust the centre vent (blue or Red) as required, but I do press the Max AC button for a few minutes when first getting in the car if it’s really hot inside like the weather the last few days!