Whats the difference between air con and climate control ?

[Tampon]

I have just got a car with climate control and wondered whats the difference between that and my old car with air con.

I only used the air con when the car was hot then turned it off when it got too cold.

That way I was in control of when the air con was on and extra fuel etc etc

Now, how can I control the use of the air con, what does the Eco mode do ?

Explain to me like I am a dunce 3 year old, i understand things better then.

Cheers

[dan101smith]

AIUI, with aircon it simply cools the car, with the air set to the temp of the dial.

With climate control, you set the desired temp of the car, and it then automatically turns on the aircon (if you've got it turned on) and fan to reach that desired temp.

HTH

ETA - on my E36, I leave the aircon button on all the time. This doesn't mean it is always on, the climate control decides when it is needed. Not sure quite how your Eco mode works, sorry.

Edited by dan101smith on Monday 22 September 13:25

[Ment-Al]

Air con, does what it says on the tin, climate control uses the air con to keep the car at a constant climate. I.e. it controls the climate - i guess it also does exactly what it says on the tin.

You could have a car with air con and no CC, but not vice versa.

Never been any good at explaining things.

[Risotto]

As I understand it, air con makes the car cold, climate control allows you to specify a temperature and the car will do whatever it needs to in order to maintain that temperature. Maybe...?!

[andyuk911]

Tampon said:

I have just got a car with climate control and wondered whats the difference between that and my old car with air con.

I only used the air con when the car was hot then turned it off when it got too cold.

That way I was in control of when the air con was on and extra fuel etc etc

Now, how can I control the use of the air con, what does the Eco mode do ?

Explain to me like I am a dunce 3 year old, i understand things better then.

Cheers

Climate control will achieve what is says .. set a 'climate' thus maintain the temp you set. So even if it is a winters day or summer, whatever the temp you set should be maintained.

Eco mode, just turns off the compressor .. so if you want the car cooler than the air outside, that WON'T be achieved.

[telecat]

Pretty much as the others said but air con is used to cool and de-humidify as required. The eco-mode means that once the target temp/hunmidity is achieved it switches off the air con. It's the best way to use it as the car remains comfortable and fuel is saved.

[M400 NBL]

So the temperature control doesn't make a difference to the aircon? It will only ever be ice cold, assuming the gas bottle is not empty?

Funny, it feels colder when I have it on minimum temp.... I guess it's in my head!

Is the symbol for aircon and climate control (snow flake) different? Perhaps my Volvo C70 does have climate control, which would explain the difference I feel in the temperature.

[Mr E]

What it also means is your other half will continually adjust it despite being asked not to.

So you get in, the car is cold, she turns it up to 28. You do 5 mines, the vents are now pumping out heat and she turns it down. To 18....

Repeat until she settles at about 22, which is where it was when you got into the thing.

Actually, I might break the dial, so it turns but does nothing.

[RobCrezz]

andyuk911 said:

Tampon said:

I have just got a car with climate control and wondered whats the difference between that and my old car with air con.

I only used the air con when the car was hot then turned it off when it got too cold.

That way I was in control of when the air con was on and extra fuel etc etc

Now, how can I control the use of the air con, what does the Eco mode do ?

Explain to me like I am a dunce 3 year old, i understand things better then.

Cheers

Climate control will achieve what is says .. set a 'climate' thus maintain the temp you set. So even if it is a winters day or summer, whatever the temp you set should be maintained.

Eco mode, just turns off the compressor .. so if you want the car cooler than the air outside, that WON'T be achieved.

Not true in all cars.

In my MR2 the Economy mode still activates the Air con.

[Tampon]

Ok that makes sense, air con is a machine that make cold air, and climate control uses the air conditioning machine/heater to get the inside of the car to a temperature desired by the driver and keep it there by using the air con and heater depending on the conditions ( ie control the climate of the car).

Now the Eco mode, still not sure on what that does, someone said that it turns the aircon off and some else said it bypasses it entirely ( same as switching the aircon off completely ). Is there a definitive answer to that ?

[MaximumJed]

M400 NBL said:

So the temperature control doesn't make a difference to the aircon? It will only ever be ice cold, assuming the gas bottle is not empty?

Funny, it feels colder when I have it on minimum temp.... I guess it's in my head!

Is the symbol for aircon and climate control (snow flake) different? Perhaps my Volvo C70 does have climate control, which would explain the difference I feel in the temperature.

If you've just got a dial that goes from blue to red, then you've got air con. The compressor cools the cold air feed, so when the dial is turned to fully cold, you only get the cold air. Moving it towards the red side gradually mixes in air that has been heated, making the air warmer.

The difference between that and climate control, is that to maintain a constant temperature with normal air-con, you have to adjust the dial as you get cooler/hotter etc. But with climate control, a sensor (or multiple sensors) will sense the change in temperature and blow hotter/cooler air to compensate. So basically, it's the same thing, just that a computer twists the dial for you.

[[AJ]]

Tampon said:

Ok that makes sense, air con is a machine that make cold air, and climate control uses the air conditioning machine/heater to get the inside of the car to a temperature desired by the driver and keep it there by using the air con and heater depending on the conditions ( ie control the climate of the car).

Now the Eco mode, still not sure on what that does, someone said that it turns the aircon off and some else said it bypasses it entirely ( same as switching the aircon off completely ). Is there a definitive answer to that ?

The Eco mode does turn off the air con but still allows your climate control to attempt to do it's job. As mentioned above, the compressor will be off, but the fans/heater will still blow to try and achieve the desired temperature [Edit] although this will not cool the air if you want the car to be colder than the outside air temp.

Edited by [AJ] on Monday 22 September 13:46

[pdV6]

Mr E said:

What it also means is your other half will continually adjust it despite being asked not to.

So you get in, the car is cold, she turns it up to 28. You do 5 mines, the vents are now pumping out heat and she turns it down. To 18....

Repeat until she settles at about 22, which is where it was when you got into the thing.

Actually, I might break the dial, so it turns but does nothing.

You've just hit on one of my pet hates right there.

MrsV6 does all of the above with the added complication of overriding the fan speed AND messing with the left / right climate zone splits so that the 2 are constantly fighting each other. To add insult to injury she then closes half the sodding air vents off.



Try as I might, I just can't seem to get the whole concept of climate control over to her in a way that means she'll just leave the sodding controls alone. IMO it's one of those things that you only ever need to set once and then never touch again except in exceptional circumstances.

[drivin_me_nuts]

... the difference is a few additional resistors behind the fascia and about £500 - £700 on the price of a new car

[Wigeon Incognito]

Ment-Al said:

You could have a car with air con and no CC, but not vice versa.

Sorry to seem pedantic, but you can actually.

My 944 has climate control but no air con, and it is referred to as climate control in all of the literature.

You set the temperature on the dial, there is a temperature sensor on the dashboard, and it heats/cools the car to the specified temperature.

Its limitation of course is that it can't cool the car to below the outside temperature so it just makes it as cool as it can when that becomes an issue.

[Mr E]

pdV6 said:

IMO it's one of those things that you only ever need to set once and then never touch again except in exceptional circumstances.

The only, *only* time I touch it is to turn it up to maximum if the car is steamed up in the morning (it never is these days as it lives inside). The climate control then drops into "clear screen" mode, and turns the fan all the way up, directs air to the front screen and turns the rear heated screen on.



I think Econ in the toyota does run the compressor, but not as much (as I can have both Econ and AC off if I don't want it at all).

[pdV6]

Mr E said:

pdV6 said:

IMO it's one of those things that you only ever need to set once and then never touch again except in exceptional circumstances.

The only, *only* time I touch it is to turn it up to maximum if the car is steamed up in the morning (it never is these days as it lives inside). The climate control then drops into "clear screen" mode, and turns the fan all the way up, directs air to the front screen and turns the rear heated screen on.

Yeah - the ovloV just has a button for front demist that rigs the CC settings to clear the screen asap. Press it again and it reverts to the previously selected settings.

After 15+ years of "mentioning" it, at least MrsV6 no longer wades into a misted screen with the palm of her hand...

[mcflurry]

drivin_me_nuts said:

... the difference is a few additional resistors behind the fascia and about £500 - £700 on the price of a new car

Agree - when it's hot I turn on the air con, when it's cold I put on the heater. Sure don't need a £700 thermometer (sp) to do it for us

[briSk]

air con cools the car down when you want it and knackers your mpg when you want it to. climate control knackers it all the time.

HTH

[annodomini2]

mcflurry said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

... the difference is a few additional resistors behind the fascia and about £500 - £700 on the price of a new car

Agree - when it's hot I turn on the air con, when it's cold I put on the heater. Sure don't need a £700 thermometer (sp) to do it for us

Climate control on a modern car, is the extra display, Climate control computer, Thermistor (usually, unless its optical), multiple if its zoned. Add to that the air-con system and electrical control of the Air-con and heater regulator valves.

Climate control is the closed loop control of the temperature within the cabin, based upon the temperature sensor input.

Air-con produces cold air.