AUTONEWS

How to protect your car from the summer heat?

Getting into a parked car on a sunny summer afternoon literally feels like getting into an oven. Thanks to the greenhouse effect, the air inside the car can easily become 50 degrees warmer than the outside air – as if the outside temperature wasn’t already high enough.

Getting into a car that has been standing in the sun for hours is like opening an oven, according to RTS. When it comes to cars, the temperature jump is extremely rapid, and the trapped hot air not only makes the stay unbearable, but also permanently damages sensitive surfaces such as the dashboard, steering wheel and seats.

The first and most important line of defense: sun visors...The most effective way to combat overheating is a windshield visor. High-quality reflective models can significantly reduce the temperature in the cabin. Their principle of operation is simple: the reflective, silver surface reflects sunlight and UV rays. The key is that the reflective side always faces outward. The market offers several styles, depending on needs and budget. The most popular are foldable models, which are cheap and easy to store, but their quality and coverage are often questionable.

Tests that tested the effectiveness of sunshades showed that placing them on the inside of the windshield had minimal effect. For example, while a reference vehicle parked in the sun without a sunshade heated up to 53 degrees Celsius, a car with a sunshade was only 4 degrees cooler.

For better protection, an inside sunshade would have to cover the entire surface of the windshield, which is almost impossible to achieve. A sunshade placed on the outside of the windshield is much more effective. Thanks to such a sunshade, the interior was 8 degrees cooler than the reference vehicle. A full cover that shields the entire vehicle from solar radiation provided even better protection, keeping the interior 10 degrees cooler.

Does the color of the car matter...It is often said that, for example, white or light-colored vehicles heat up less than dark-colored vehicles. In a test conducted by the German Automobile Club, the surface of a black vehicle heated up significantly more than the surface of a white vehicle – 65 degrees compared to just 44. However, this had surprisingly little effect on the temperature inside the cabin. In the test in a black car, the cabin was only 5 degrees warmer.

Strategic parking and other habits that make a difference...The simplest method is often the most effective: smart parking. Whenever possible, park your car in a garage, under a carport or in the shade of trees and buildings. The shade drastically reduces the temperature and protects the paintwork and plastic from deterioration.

Keep in mind the movement of the sun. A place in the shade in the morning can be exposed to the sun in the afternoon. A useful strategy is to park with the windscreen facing north, thus avoiding direct exposure to the sun.

In addition to protecting the windscreen, it is also useful to cover the areas in the interior that heat up the most. A simple towel or light-colored cloth draped over the steering wheel, gearshift, and seats can prevent unpleasant and even painful burns upon first contact. This is especially important for vehicles with dark leather seats, which become extremely hot. Installing light-colored seat covers during the summer is also an excellent and more aesthetically pleasing solution, which protects the materials from damage caused by UV radiation in the long term.

You may often hear advice to leave the windows slightly cracked to allow air to circulate. However, research shows that this method has a negligible effect on reducing the maximum temperature in the cabin, while at the same time significantly increasing the safety risk. An open window, even just half a centimeter, is an easy target for thieves and makes the vehicle vulnerable to sudden summer showers. This practice is therefore generally not recommended.

Quick cooling: What to do before getting into a hot car...If all other prevention measures have failed, there are a few tricks to quickly cool the cabin before leaving.

Trying to get the air conditioner to cool our car can take about 5 minutes and is not worth it. Instead, try another, more scientifically-based method. Open one of the windows on the opposite side of the driver's seat, preferably the rear door. Then, with quick movements, open and slam the door near the driver's seat. This way, the door acts as a fan, actively expelling hot air from the cabin through the open window. It takes two or three, some say five attempts, and the same technique can help cool rooms in your house.

Keep in mind, you’re starting with a car that can be up to 50 degrees warmer than the outside air. So if you can get rid of that super-hot air and replace it with regular outside air (which is just hot), you’ve taken a big step toward cooling the interior and given your air conditioner a big boost.

Once you’re inside, the way to get the hot air out of your car is to simply roll down the windows for the first minute of driving. If you have a sunroof, opening it is especially helpful, because hot air rises while cooler air descends. Then turn on the air conditioning (if you have one), but not to maximum. Once the car’s interior starts to cool down from the outside air—after you’ve rolled down the windows—only then should you turn the air conditioning to “maximum” and recirculate that cooler air through the air conditioning system.

Finally, it’s important to note that no method makes a car safe for children or pets. Even with a sunroof, the temperature can rise to dangerous levels. Leaving a child or animal in a vehicle, even for a few minutes, can be fatal.