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gazzae
31-07-2006, 13:21
Hi All,

Might be a dumb question, but in a car, what is the difference between Air Conditioning and Climate Control?

Gareth
zovat
31-07-2006, 13:24
Hi All,

Might be a dumb question, but in a car, what is the difference between Air Conditioning and Climate Control?

Gareth

Gareth,

Air Con will cool the air, but you can only select hot/cold - whereas climate control allows you to set a desired temperature and works out whether to heat or cool accordingly.

Zovat
Graham M
31-07-2006, 13:24
Climate Control, I beleive, controls Humidity among other things too
Chris
31-07-2006, 13:26
Climate Control, I beleive, controls Humidity among other things too

So does basic air con - that's how air con works.
homealone
31-07-2006, 13:27
Also ''climate control' adjusts the humidity of the air, as well, 'ordinary' air con can dry the air to the point it becomes uncomfortable for contact lens wearers, for example.

edit <I'll leave it, even though it is a dupe, as it answers Townys' post, as well ;) >
gazzae
31-07-2006, 13:27
Gareth,

Air Con will cool the air, but you can only select hot/cold - whereas climate control allows you to set a desired temperature and works out whether to heat or cool accordingly.

Zovat

Thats what I thought, but a car I was looking at over the weekend had the option to set a temperature but then climate control was listed as an added extra.
Chris
31-07-2006, 13:29
Thats what I thought, but a car I was looking at over the weekend had the option to set a temperature but then climate control was listed as an added extra.

In which case the blurb-writer doesn't understand what climate control is. ;)
fireman328
31-07-2006, 13:45
In which case the blurb-writer doesn't understand what climate control is. ;)

Don't pollen filters and the ability to re-circulate air to keep fumes out figure in the equation somewhere ?
Chris
31-07-2006, 13:58
Don't pollen filters and the ability to re-circulate air to keep fumes out figure in the equation somewhere ?

Possibly, but that wouldn't alter the fact that being able to set temperature is part of the climate control system, meaning it's not correct to list climate control and temperature setting as if they were separate things.
Valerie
31-07-2006, 14:28
I've got air conditioning on a Renault Laguna 2L and climate control on an old volvo 960. The climate control is much, much better as its much faster (helped I'm sure by the bigger engine). It also has an auto feature whereby it assumes you want to recirclulate air and use a high fan speed to start with and switches these to normal once the required temp is achieved.
Shame the volvo eats the petrol though!
Graham M
31-07-2006, 14:57
I just wind my windows down and drive fast :D
gazzae
31-07-2006, 15:01
I just wind my windows down and drive fast :D

Which raises another interesting question. Which uses more fuel, driving with air con on or driving with a window down.
Graham M
31-07-2006, 15:04
Good question, my car does 55MPG or thereabouts doing distance, so I'm happy either way :)
homealone
31-07-2006, 15:07
I just wind my windows down and drive fast :D

Which raises another interesting question. Which uses more fuel, driving with air con on or driving with a window down.

that is an interesting question, the drag from the open window would increase with speed, while I would think the air con would be less variable, although that is just thinking out loud...

- Jensen Button's failure to beat 'The Stig's' time on Top Gear last night, was blamed on him having to have the air conditioning on ;)
Maggy
31-07-2006, 15:08
Air Con,Climate control.

Doesn't one circulate the air in the car and the other circulates air from outside the car? :shrug:
homealone
31-07-2006, 15:16
Air Con,Climate control.

Doesn't one circulate the air in the car and the other circulates air from outside the car? :shrug:

I think of it that air con is like a fridge with no thermostat, it will just keep trying to cool the air, wheras climate control is more sophisticated & uses feedback from sensors in the car to keep the temperature at the level set. AFAIK both will work with the air circulating or re-circulating???
Graham M
31-07-2006, 15:23
The Air Con we had where i used to work had a temperature control on it?
Maggy
31-07-2006, 15:24
Air Con,Climate control.

Doesn't one circulate the air in the car and the other circulates air from outside the car? :shrug:
I think of it that air con is like a fridge with no thermostat, it will just keep trying to cool the air, wheras climate control is more sophisticated & uses feedback from sensors in the car to keep the temperature at the level set. AFAIK both will work with the air circulating or re-circulating???

I suspect that what passes for Air Con in my car is anything but. ;) I have boiling hot or tepid as my choices. ;)
r1ch
31-07-2006, 15:54
that is an interesting question, the drag from the open window would increase with speed, while I would think the air con would be less variable, although that is just thinking out loud...
Yes - I read about someone researching this somewhere... for the car they tried below about 30mph having the windows open was more efficient and above that speed having the air con on was more efficient.
homealone
31-07-2006, 15:58
that is an interesting question, the drag from the open window would increase with speed, while I would think the air con would be less variable, although that is just thinking out loud...
Yes - I read about someone researching this somewhere... for the car they tried below about 30mph having the windows open was more efficient and above that speed having the air con on was more efficient.

That does sound logical, as I believe the drag from the window increases exponentially, with an increase in speed :)
Bill C
31-07-2006, 16:08
I just wind my windows down and drive fast :D
Which raises another interesting question. Which uses more fuel, driving with air con on or driving with a window down.

Mythbusters tested that and proved that having the window open uses more fuel than air con.
Stuart
31-07-2006, 17:06
I just wind my windows down and drive fast :D
Which raises another interesting question. Which uses more fuel, driving with air con on or driving with a window down.
that is an interesting question, the drag from the open window would increase with speed, while I would think the air con would be less variable, although that is just thinking out loud...

- Jensen Button's failure to beat 'The Stig's' time on Top Gear last night, was blamed on him having to have the air conditioning on ;)

I read somewhere that the average car loses about 10% of it's power and Fuel economy with AirCon on.

---------- Post added at 17:06 ---------- Previous post was at 17:02 ----------

The Air Con we had where i used to work had a temperature control on it?

Air Con in a building is slightly different from Air Con in a car. For instance, we have a very nice system at work that can re-circulate air, bring the air to a certain temperature and also control humidity, which judging by the responses here would actually be called "Climate control" in a car.