Originally Posted by
inuvik
Yes! When I need air conditioning I just push the button to manually turn the AC on and set the temp to 72F / 22C and leave it be. If it's really hot, then I'll manually choose recirculation. Easy peasy.
inuvik and Jim - Yes, I can do this too. But, I find doing that very thing (turn the A/C on and set to 72°F to be illogical). I'm not saying inuvik is illogical or wrong. I'm saying I find it illogical, based on 3 reasons.
- I've got some OCD,
- I'm an engineering nerd, and
- Regional weather demands.
If I want it 72°F inside the cabin, and it is 99°F and 100% humidity outside, I must max out the A/C with the windows closed in order to achieve that, or somewhat close to that. This is based on the region I live (can I get an AMEN Dirk?). Which means I can take a short cut and just push the temp arrow button down how many ever friggin beeps it takes to hit 61°F on the setting window. And then of course, for some damn unknown reason, the HVAC system will never trigger the fan speed to max if I leave it at 61° AUTO. It will be 1 bar short. So I STILL have to futz with the damn thang, and push the fan speed up one bar to max, which trips it off of AUTO. Which again is illogical. In this scenario, I run with it on 61° and never beep up the temp setting from there. In the hottest times of summer, it is adequate with no margin.
If it is 72°±10°F outside, and I want 72°±10°F inside, I roll down my (2 left side) windows and turn off the HVAC, enjoy the breeze, and reap a higher mpg without turning the A/C compressor on.
If it below 60° outside, I may close the windows and futz with the temp control (A/C off), and can usually make it pleasant enough in the car.
The only times I have the windows closed are, when it is way cold, when it is way hot, or when it is raining.
My statement about illogical is just that, there's only 2 instances I use the A/C:
- I have the temp set at 62° on Fresh, or 61° on Recirc if it's too warm with warm Fresh air coming in across the evaporator. Or,
- It is raining out, the windows are up, and showing signs of fogging. Then the A/C goes on and the temp is adjusted to whatever is comfortable.
In summary: I rarely have the system set to AUTO. Only at warm rainy times, maybe.
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