plug in air con?
Discussion
Not really.
The best you could hope for is evaporative cooling (swamp cooling), but it won’t be very effective.
Aircon would require either ventilation to outside (like portable aircon units for the home) or a split system to ensure that heat transfer isn’t exhausted into the space you are tying to cool.
The best you could hope for is evaporative cooling (swamp cooling), but it won’t be very effective.
Aircon would require either ventilation to outside (like portable aircon units for the home) or a split system to ensure that heat transfer isn’t exhausted into the space you are tying to cool.
asfault said:
Is there anything you can plug into the cigarette lighter that will act like air con?
No, due to the power output limit of the cigar socket, which is 12V at a peak of 10A = 120W maximum.If you want to compare that with a domestic portable house aircon unit (240V) , that'd usually be in the region of 2000W to 3000W and is still far inferior to what you'd typically find built into a car with the aircon option.
If you want a car with aircon, you need to just buy one.
I've not seen such a thing as 12v plug in air conditioning but maybe something like the EcoFlow Wave claims to offer battery powered air conditioning for up to eight hours and in car charging, I have no idea how it works in practice though- and for the cost of the thing you could buy an entire car with working air conditioning.
Edited by Timfy on Wednesday 19th July 22:00
The problem with evaporative coolers (like the one above) used in a closed space is that they just fill the air with moisture and raise the humidity level, which is what most people are actually experiencing as 'heat' when it is warm and claustrophobic feeling (think sauna or steam room).
I suppose one way of adding electric cooling would be to use peltier units like the ones employed in the seat coolers in some Jaguars/Ford's and the Kia Stinger. You would still need some pretty big heatsinks mounted outside the cabin for it to cool a significant amount inside.
I suppose one way of adding electric cooling would be to use peltier units like the ones employed in the seat coolers in some Jaguars/Ford's and the Kia Stinger. You would still need some pretty big heatsinks mounted outside the cabin for it to cool a significant amount inside.
I agree that evaporative = pants, even when putting a block of ice in them.
We've come so far in society that you can now get proper camping a/c units - watch some YouTube videos of them cooling tents..
https://www.offpathtravels.com/camping-air-conditi...
We've come so far in society that you can now get proper camping a/c units - watch some YouTube videos of them cooling tents..
https://www.offpathtravels.com/camping-air-conditi...
Alas, no auxiliary AC in existence. I searched for this before and got nowhere wish for my UK shed as the only way to get the AC on but stuck 'on' is to bypass the relay. Tips/advice in the meantime to keep the car interior cool in the absence of AC. Hope these help and apologies if anyone thinks I'm stating the bleeding obvious:
- When car is parked, keep windows lowered as much as is safe to let interior heat escape. Interior temperature will come to exceed the exterior temperature otherwise.
- Keep the car parked in the shade where possible. E.g. a building or tree.
- Keep the car parked out of the Sun's path/movement.
- Try and face the front of the car away from it if possible.
- Try covering the dash with a large towel to stop the hard plastics absorbing the heat.
- Car interior (e.g. dashboard, trim, seats, anything metal etc) and glass will store and radiate heat. To cool it down, use bottles of water or a hosepipe on windows, or try one of those spray bottles filled with water, maybe mixed in with some hand sanitiser (see below). Spray water all over the interior (bar the driver's seat if it's only you in the car) and on the dash etc.
- Soak a large towel and place it on the dashboard.
Like perspiration, the water evaporating from the towel or where you've sprayed cools the interior down massively and more or less instantly
All the above based on experience living in a hot country where, thanks to having an outdoor residential parking space, it can be an almost daily ritual before setting off. AC alone, even on full blast, does nothing or is slow/impossible to cool you / the car down when the glass and dash are burning hot and you're still under the Sun.
The reason I mentioned alcohol-based hand sanitiser being a help is because it has a lower boiling temperature than water so cools quicker.
- When car is parked, keep windows lowered as much as is safe to let interior heat escape. Interior temperature will come to exceed the exterior temperature otherwise.
- Keep the car parked in the shade where possible. E.g. a building or tree.
- Keep the car parked out of the Sun's path/movement.
- Try and face the front of the car away from it if possible.
- Try covering the dash with a large towel to stop the hard plastics absorbing the heat.
- Car interior (e.g. dashboard, trim, seats, anything metal etc) and glass will store and radiate heat. To cool it down, use bottles of water or a hosepipe on windows, or try one of those spray bottles filled with water, maybe mixed in with some hand sanitiser (see below). Spray water all over the interior (bar the driver's seat if it's only you in the car) and on the dash etc.
- Soak a large towel and place it on the dashboard.
Like perspiration, the water evaporating from the towel or where you've sprayed cools the interior down massively and more or less instantly
All the above based on experience living in a hot country where, thanks to having an outdoor residential parking space, it can be an almost daily ritual before setting off. AC alone, even on full blast, does nothing or is slow/impossible to cool you / the car down when the glass and dash are burning hot and you're still under the Sun.
The reason I mentioned alcohol-based hand sanitiser being a help is because it has a lower boiling temperature than water so cools quicker.
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