Have You Been Making These Five Air Conditioning Mistakes?

Have you been making these five common air-conditioning mistakes in your car this summer?

Barcelona-based Spanish carmaker SEAT has said that drivers could be reducing the effectiveness of the systems by not using them properly – resulting in higher cabin temperatures, worsened reaction times and possible dehydration.

A small difference such as 95°F (35 °C) compared to 77 °F (25 °C) inside the cabin can diminish reaction times by 20 percent says SEAT – the equivalent to a blood alcohol reading of 0.05 percent.

With outside temperatures recently soaring above  86 °F (30 °C) in many countries, hurried commuters and holiday makers in particular could be at risk of dehydration.

Cars parked in the sun can reach a startling 140 °F (60 °C). To help reduce cabin temperatures before setting off and while on the move, Ángel Suárez, an engineer at the SEAT Technical Center, says: “Open the doors and lower the windows for a minute before turning on the air conditioning to naturally lower the temperature in the interior.”

If rear passengers say they can’t feel the cool air, then the nozzles could be set incorrectly. “It isn’t a matter of temperature, but in which direction the air is flowing inside the car,” says Suárez. “The nozzles should be pointing upwards, not towards peoples’ faces. Then the air flows all around the interior of the car and reaches every passenger consistently.”