Climate Control v. Air-Conditioning

Manuel

Hi,
Sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it in the archives.
What is the difference between "Air-Conditioning" and "Climate Control"?
Some cars have one, some have the other, and some have both.
Many thanks.
/M.

prospect

AFAIK:

Air Con - Continously Cools And Filters the Air
Clim Control - Maintains the Temperature at a user defined setting, i.e. it will heat up and cool down as required to maintain a certain cabin temp

But i am certainly open to correction on this

woody

One is Electronic ie.CLimate Control tends to have a digital read out and has no knobs for adjusting the heat etc


Air Con is usually a button, then you push this in turn then conditions the air from the manual blowers

In a nutshell one is manual the other automatic

Borzoi

prospect wrote:

But i am certainly open to correction on this

No, not when you're right

Manuel

Thanks for the help!
I believe air-con (or CC) is expensive to run. How come?
Does it draw from the fuel? Have you any rough estimate of the cost?
Thanks again. I'm in the market for an MPV and have it high on my
wish-list.

prospect

Manuel wrote:

Thanks for the help!
I believe air-con (or CC) is expensive to run. How come?
Does it draw from the fuel? Have you any rough estimate of the cost?
Thanks again. I'm in the market for an MPV and have it high on my
wish-list.

They do have an effect on fuel consumption, the same way having the heater does, or the radio, or wipers, or using electric windows.
I do not leave my aircon on continously except when it is hot/humid, the same way i leave my heater on when it is cold.

People who do not have aircon would probably notice better fuel economy during summer (if such a thing occurs in this country). This is because in winter they tend to have their heaters on more often, their headlights on more often and their wipers on more often.

halkar

My climate control is always on, not sure if it uses fuel or how it works. I had cars with air con when it's on they lost performance when accelerating. With climate control there is no loss, though my motor is diesel.

unkel

prospect wrote:

They do have an effect on fuel consumption, the same way having the heater does, or the radio, or wipers, or using electric windows

Yes except that all those only add marginally to fuel consumption. Aircon adds about 10% to your fuel bill if left always on. This is a general rule of thumb and I expect it to be a bit less in Ireland's moderate climate

bazz26

Manuel wrote:

Thanks for the help!
I believe air-con (or CC) is expensive to run. How come?
Does it draw from the fuel? Have you any rough estimate of the cost?
Thanks again. I'm in the market for an MPV and have it high on my
wish-list.

Would recommend a/c or better still c/c with dual zone in a MPV due to the large amounts of glass that they have. This means the cabin will be like a green house in the summer. Dual zone climate control allows you to have different temperatures for both front and rear passengers. Most large MPVs have it as standard these days but it is still an expensive option of some models.

CrowdedHouse

Manuel wrote:

Thanks for the help!
I believe air-con (or CC) is expensive to run. How come?
Does it draw from the fuel? Have you any rough estimate of the cost?
Thanks again. I'm in the market for an MPV and have it high on my
wish-list.

It's because the engine has to drive a compressor and usually an extra fan which creates a higher load on the engine causing it to use more fuel.

That said it is well worth it for the comfort on warm and/or humid days.Remembering to keep the windows closed helps efficency.

With climate control if the ouside temp is lower than the inside temp of the car it is able to use this to cool rather than running the AC compressor all the time,although manual AC systems usually have a thermostat to cut off cooling as well.

CrowdedHouse

halkar wrote:

My climate control is always on, not sure if it uses fuel or how it works. I had cars with air con when it's on they lost performance when accelerating. With climate control there is no loss, though my motor is diesel.

Same here(AUDI A4 TDI)No choice really if you want ventilation other than opening the windows !
There is an ECON(omy) button that stops the AC compressor switching on

Balfa

Air Conditioning is a fridge that blows cold air into the cabin (as well you know!)

Climate Control is an electronic thermostat, so all you do is set the temperature you want the cabin to be (say, 19 degrees), and the computer does all the work of deciding whether to heat or cool and how hard to do the heating or the cooling. If it's currently 23 degrees insde, it'll do a little bit of cooling (whether it actually uses the air condition compressor is model-specific and may depend on outside temperature), if it's -2 degrees, it'll go full blast on the heat. I know of no climate control systems that don't include A/C.


I'm enjoying full window-down driving at the moment , but it'll last probably only a few more weeks before i have to resort to A/C in this wretchedly inhospitable climate .

jayok

If I could just clarify one point wrt air conditioning.

It is exactly that, conditioning of the air. It can be used to cool the car but it can be also used to heat the car. I actually tend to also use a/c on those wet winter days when there are other people in the car and the windows start to fog up. In this instance a/c will remove the moisture from the air and give you a clutter free view out all windows, front, side and back.

Most people think of a/c as as cooling the car. But once you have it you'll find it far more useful that you really think. I suppose it's like electric windows, didn't mind the windy ones until I went electric, now I won't do without.

lomb

Balfa wrote:

I know of no climate control systems that don't include A/C.

well i do. many x300 jaguar xj6s were fitted with a non airconditioned electronic climate control and were only able to cool to the ambient air temperature.

Capt'n Midnight

bazz26 wrote:

Dual zone climate control allows you to have different temperatures for both front and rear passengers.

Dang - always thought that dual was passenger vs. driver - cos women like to be 5-8 degrees warmer than men - me in T-Shirt sweating like a pig and nearly nodding off at the wheel and there's demands to turn the heating up :rolleyes:

BrianD3

My car has aircon and dual zone climate control. In the two years I've had it I've used the aircon maybe 3 times and the climate control once and that was just to see how it worked. Climate control is a pointless luxury IMO. You'd want to be awful fussy and lazy to want the car to control the cabin temperature like that. Also, the display in my climate control allows you to choose a temp to the nearest 0.1 degree C. Somehow I highly doubt whether the system is really able to maintain the cabin temperature that precisely.

As for the air con, I can see some benefit to it but I'd question the need for it in a country like ireland. I know about the dry air and demisting the windows etc. but I didn't notice the windows demisting much quicker with the aircon on. Also, it does sap power in my car. With it on I need to use a bit more throttle to move away smoothly from a standstill.

Dual zone: I'd prefer up/down dual zone rather the side/side that I have. Would like the option of having different temp air directed at the windscreen, my feet etc. rather than different temp air for the driver and front passenger

Padraig Mor

jayok wrote:

If I could just clarify one point wrt air conditioning.

It is exactly that, conditioning of the air. It can be used to cool the car but it can be also used to heat the car. I actually tend to also use a/c on those wet winter days when there are other people in the car and the windows start to fog up. In this instance a/c will remove the moisture from the air and give you a clutter free view out all windows, front, side and back.

Most people think of a/c as as cooling the car. But once you have it you'll find it far more useful that you really think. I suppose it's like electric windows, didn't mind the windy ones until I went electric, now I won't do without.

Yeah, I use the a/c more for demisting than temperature regulation. Find it great - clears all windows in under a minute. Strangely, I get a big mist on my front window for a minute or so when I turn it off.