Aircon how does it work is it better in the heat.

wigfield

Hi

So who knows how the aircon system works,Does it work better in the summer times more cold air when its really hot,Or do you get more cold air in the cooler days.

I would say you get colder air coming out in the less warmer days,But a mate said that is actually wrong you think its colder because the air outside is cold,But infact you get colder air in the summer hotter days,Then he waffled on about summer time heat has more air pressure and the aircon works with pressure,He lost me then.

mad_rich

Yes. .

wigfield

I do so hate these short answers,Yes to what a bit of simple info would be good.

flang

http://home.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm
Pretty much the same for a car just smaller and the pump is turned by the engine

worried_jim

It amazes me how some people get through the day with being reminded to breath in and out.

vikingaero

In the cold most car a/c systems will only work down to +1 to +2 degrees C to prevent ice forming in the inlet and entering the compressor.

TrickyWicky

To cut a long story short, air con uses a gas that becomes hot when compressed. When it's hot / compressed, if you cool it down then when it is decompressed it will become colder than it is naturally before compression.

Thats how I understand it anyway.

Richard53

TrickyWicky wrote: »

To cut a long story short, air con uses a gas that becomes hot when compressed. When it's hot / compressed, if you cool it down then when it is decompressed it will become colder than it is naturally before compression.

Thats how I understand it anyway.

You understand it correctly. Same principle as a domestic fridge. And logically if the incoming air is warmer, the output will be warmer too, i.e. the air it supplies will be colder in winter. But that is to ignore limitations as mentioned by vikingaero above, and the fact that the cold air will be blended in the interior of the car with the output from the heater in any case. So in the end, I don't think the outside temperature makes much difference. The compressor might have to work a little harder in summer, perhaps, in the same way that the fridge in your kitchen cycles on for longer in warm weather.

forgotmyname

Aircon is like your fridge. Some cars disable it below 5 degrees to stop the condenser freezing.

Around 10 degrees you wont know how efficient it is.

It will have a limit though. The hotter it gets the better it seems to work. Until it gets to its limits. It may only be able to drop he temperature by 20 degrees.

Some of the luxury cars have air con units as powerful as 20 fridges. Bigger interior space and the ability to drop the temperature by say 30 degrees. But saps the engines power.

Using the aircon uses more fuel.

Ectophile

Aircon works in pretty much the same way as a fridge. The inside of the car is the fridge, and the heat is dumped to the outside air. The difference is that the aircon pump is driven by the engine, rather than an electric motor.

You are likely to find that the aircon system will only be able to maintain a certain temperature difference between the inside and outside. So in really hot weather, you may not be able to get the inside of the car really cold.

andygb

Is the forum full of parrots tonight?


Anyway, this is how aircon works:

It is basically like a fridge - - - -- - - - - -:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:


And I really missed not having it last year when we travelled through Europe in 40C heat:mad: