All modern cars above the B-class are equipped with special equipment that is designed to create the optimal climate in the car. These devices are called climate control. The modern system that creates optimal "weather conditions" in the cabin is an electronic system, a climate control unit that controls the operation of the heater, fan, air conditioning system, and the distribution of air flows.
Until recently, and now on budget cars, only a stove was installed, where it was necessary to manually adjust the temperature regime and the force with which the air flow would be blown. Yes, and the stove is used more often than only in winter. In the summer, you can get by with an open window. But the development of technological progress has made a necessary contribution to the development of modern systems designed to provide comfort during driving. Let's see what constitutes a climate control unit, what such systems can do and how they are controlled.
Device
Depending on the class and configuration of the car, the climate system can vary significantly in functionality. But all of them are almost completely automated. The basis of the system is the control unit, which, through a huge number of sensors located in various places in the cabin, monitors the operation of the actuating elements. This is an air conditioner, stove, and filter elements.
Operating principle
The climate control unit receives data from the sensors about the outdoor temperature. It also receives information on the levels of solar radiation. The device takes care of the health of the driver and passengers - the system changes the direction of air flow and provides the most uniform distribution of warm or cold air around the entire perimeter of the cabin. This prevents the risk of diseases that may occur when using a conventional air conditioner.
What is the advantage of this complex complex? Unlike the archaic
stove, the climate control
unit does not immediately supply hot or cold air to the passenger compartment. Air flows are first mixed in the duct system, and only then the mixture is distributed throughout the cabin.
So, the system can maintain adjusted comfortable temperatures by regulating the flow of hot and cold air. Climate system manufacturers do this with special air dampers. A change in their position leads to the mixing of air of different temperatures. These shutters are controlled both manually and automatically using an electronic system.
Features of the climate systems
The principle that underlies the operation of this system (namely, mixing hot and cold air flows) enables engineers to constantly increase the functionality of systems to further increase comfort in the car. So, it was possible to create a fully autonomous system to provide a microclimate regardless of the weather.
Even the budget complex is able to quickly drain the air in the cabin in wet weather to prevent fogging of the glass. Also, the climate is able to remove dust from the air, gases - this is important for large cities. The system allows a person to adapt to climatic conditions gradually. Even the most budgetary solutions can function without the need for air intake from the street.
Single zone climate
The simplest climate control unit works on the principle of ensuring the same temperature at each point of the elephant. This scheme is single-zone. More complex systems may have other functions. So, they use different temperature settings in individual parts of the cabin. There are two-, three- and even four-zone climate units, where the system controls individual sections. Below we will consider each of them.
Features of the dual-zone system
Dual-zone climate control is a system that can provide and maintain different temperatures in different parts of the cabin. Such a complex is the most common among multi-zone ones. The unit makes it possible to set different temperatures near the driver's seat and at the location of the rear passengers.
The peculiarity of this climate complex is the presence of restrictions on the maximum temperature difference between two controlled zones. Often the difference is low - no more than 6 degrees. If the driver has set a temperature of 26 degrees, then passengers in the back row on a dual-zone climate control will not be able to set the temperature mode below 20 degrees.
Three-zone air conditioning
In such systems, you can adjust the temperature in the driver’s area, near the front passenger, as well as in the back row.
Four-zone
Such complexes are installed only on premium cars, and even then not in every configuration. The system allows you to adjust the comfortable temperature near each chair. Given that a personal car is not often loaded completely, the installation of climate control in four zones is redundant. In these systems, there are the same restrictions on the temperature regime between two adjacent zones.
Any multi-zone system for its full-fledged operation requires a significantly larger number of air-conducting systems, a huge number of sensors and dampers. All this is controlled by a separate unit.
Climate system options
Many car owners who have moved from an old Zhiguli to a decent car do not know how to use climate control. Despite the constructive complexity of the system, it is as user friendly as possible. All manipulations are carried out with a very simple and intuitive control panel. To understand the meaning of the controls, you do not even need to open the operating instructions.
There are manual operation of the climate complex and automatic. In the first case, you need to thoroughly know all the details of the climate. If, through ignorance, it is incorrect to configure the system from the climate control panel, there is a risk of reducing the life of the entire complex.
In manual mode, by turning the knobs or pressing the buttons, the fan speed, the level of cooling or heating of the air are adjusted. The conditions for air to enter the cabin are adjusted. Manual mode is designed for those cases when you need to very quickly warm up or cool the air.
Automatic mode is applied on long trips. To activate this mode, you need to press the appropriate button and set the comfortable temperature. The control unit will take care of all the steps to configure the dampers, air flows and their strength.
Car enthusiasts often do not use automatic modes (and not because they do not know how to use climate control). If you select this circuit, the fan is very annoying - it works at high speeds, creating noise. But this is only the initial stage of work - in a few minutes the fan will switch to normal mode and stop making noise. The system will only maintain the set temperature.
Finally
Installation of climate control made the car even more comfortable. In summer or winter, the temperature in the cabin will be the most optimal. And passengers will be able to adjust the temperature to their taste. This is a very useful feature.