How To Optimize Your Car’s Air Conditioning

With temperatures on the rise and the sun out more than ever, do you know how well your vehicle’s air conditioning is functioning? Most of us start up the car, crank up the air conditioning, and hit the road without thinking twice about how our air conditioner functions or if we are even using our A/C correctly. If you are not making time in your daily life to take care of your car and your air conditioning system, you could find yourself having to pay a steep repair bill well before you need to. If you notice that your air conditioning system has begun to lose its strength or has stopped working entirely, stop into one of your local Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers today. Our team of expert and certified technicians will work to get your air conditioner running as good as the day you drove your vehicle off the lot.

How Air Conditioning Works

Your vehicle’s air conditioner functions in two halves:  a high-pressure half and a low-pressure half. When you start up your car and turn on your air conditioning, the first system to fire up is the compressor. The compressor pushes the coolant, which is currently in a gaseous form, into the condenser. The condenser then cools off this gas and turns it into a highly pressurized liquid. From there, the coolant travels to the low-pressure side of your air conditioning. The coolant then moves to the evaporator, which usually sits right behind your dashboard, where it cools incoming air from the outside. The coolant then cycles back through this system and the process starts all over again.

Take it Easy on Your System

Now that we’ve covered the basics of how air conditioning works, you are probably asking yourself “How can I make my air conditioner more efficient and durable?” The best thing that you can do for your air conditioning is to not overwork it. Most of the damage to your vehicle’s air conditioning is going to come from simple wear and tear over time. If you know that you are going to be parked somewhere for an extended period of time in the hot sun, do what you can to find some shade. By simply parking your car in a shaded area could make your cabin over 30 degrees cooler than if you left it sitting out in the sun.

If you have to park out in the sun without any shade, make sure that you don’t just turn your air conditioning on full blast right when you get into your car. Take a few minutes to open your windows, drive around while taking some turns and try to push all that hot air out of your car to save your system. If you need to turn your air conditioning on right away, start by turning it on little by little instead of just moving the blower dial directly to max output.  If you would like to learn more about how you can help your vehicle run smoothly or if your vehicle needs an air conditioning tune-up stop into your neighborhood Dobbs Tire & Auto Centers today. Our team of expert and certified service technicians will make sure your vehicle is ready to handle anything that summer can throw at you.