Air Conditioning

[Xandria]

Unless you live way up North, and even then I wouldn't say this with uncertainty, air conditioning is a necessity. It hit 34 degrees Celcius in Vancouver the second day we took Speaky out, and wow. With the glass roof in our coupe, it got HOT. Talking to Keith, he mentioned that his wrapped roof really helped defray some of that heat he would otherwise experience. And as decent as the AC is (more in a minute), I'm thinking the sun roof would be a good option for our next smart car (it's a titch pricey of an option, so I understand not getting it).

The AC worked well but we noticed that it took a good few minutes to kick in, and then when we were driiving slow due to traffic or idling, she would start blowing warmish air. But once we were driving at a good clip for a while, nice and cool.

And yes, I know that AC burns up your fuel and affects your mileage. Anyone have any more info on this? How drastic does the AC affect mileage results?

Yesterday at 31 degrees Celcius, the AC on the second highest notch was just perfect.

Now I suspect people who got the sun roof option, have their car wrapped or have the cabriolet might not feel the heat as much as glass roofed coupe owners. But I suspect, like any car, our Canadian summers still feel mighty warm for drivers.

[Fred J]

To be honest Xan, I haven't noticed any negative effect on fuel mileage. With everything scaled down sizewise the compressor draws very little load on the engine. In fact I don't even notice it cut in and out like you would on a large vehicle.

Even if it does, is a loss of 1 mpg of any consequence when getting 60 to 70 mpg?

Is it safe to assume that you were operating with both red lights on?

[SmartieParts]

Definately use both red lights! (that is, click the A/C button twice) I find it cool enough that way, but "warmish air" only blows when I have it on one.

A sunroof would have been way worse in the kind of weather we are having. Our roof is UV protected for one - a sunroof would beat the sun right down on you relentlessly. Fortwo (hehe), you open the sunroof and you are letting IN warm air. You have a/c - use it! It is far more economical to be cool, comfortable, and alert than it is to pass out and smash your car into a wall and leak harful fluids into the storm drains!

Since getting the computer, I've been able to experiment with a few things while driving. Turning on the A/C full blast appears to bump the mileage, but I would estimate it is 0.2 L/100km at the most. I don't have a level enough road to get a more accurate test.

There's also no reason usually to leave it going full blast. Just turn it off/on as necessary to keep the cabin cool. Full-time A/C is bad for you anyway - the air gets too dry and its not good for your lungs.

[mattdaddy]

No mention of the sun shade in this post. It hasn't been all that warm so far in the Toronto area, but on one highway journey I could feel my head getting a bit warm. That was the first and only time I've pulled the sun shade forward to reduce the effect of the sun on my head. It worked great. The roof is almost solid if you put it in the right spot, as there is shading towards the front and back of the roof.

95% of the time, I'm a windows down type of guy. I put the A/C on only when I have a suit on and I'm stuck in traffic on the highway. Still good go have as an option.

[Xandria]

Oh no, I don't think we had both the red lights on. Thanks for the tip! (Dean tells me that yes, we did have both the red lights on)

Oh, is it best to use the AC on internal or external air (pardon lack of proper verbiage, but I think you know what I'm saying)?

Oh yes, I forgot to mention the sun shade. Thanks, mattdaddy. That's so helpful and was using that from the get-go. I NEVER knew what it was until very recently. LOL Dean, however knew.

It's amazing how much stuff is packed into such a little car!

[SmartieParts]

Isn't it though?

I believe the manual says you should pretty much always run on vented air (external) as opposed to recirculated air (internal), whenever practical.

However, it give a few exceptions including rapid cooling and rapid defosting - switch to recirc for short periods only.

Air quality is really reduced on recirculation mode - not healthy. Then again - if you are stuck in traffic with pollutants spewing all over the place, which is worse?

[Xandria]

Certainly one must choose the lesser of two weevils (sorry, Master & Commander joke).

Delta can get pretty stinky at times so internal air is adviseable ;-)

But thanks tonnes for all that extra information! I really appreciate it. Your sage advice is awesome!

[TFM]

Isn't it though?

I believe the manual says you should pretty much always run on vented air (external) as opposed to recirculated air (internal), whenever practical.

This was one of my questions. I figured fresh air was better.

However, it give a few exceptions including rapid cooling and rapid defosting - switch to recirc for short periods only.

Air quality is really reduced on recirculation mode - not healthy. Then again - if you are stuck in traffic with pollutants spewing all over the place, which is worse?

Normally we keep the air on external unless we are in a area that has pollution or nasty smells. :?

When you have AC on and use recycled air you start to get that AC smell... :? And I don't like that smell.

[Bud Colby]

One big problem with recycled air is that the moisture that is in the car is trapped. Hence when you are wet from rain, snow on the boots, high humidity in the air, etc etc. The inside of the windows will draw the moisture and fog up.

In cold weather you will see some people driving around with there windows all frosted up and they can only see out of little clear spots in front of the defrost vents. If they would put the air to Fresh and open a window slightly it would get rid of the moist air.

Also if you live in an area that has cattle feed lots, stinky businesses and the such it is advisable to put the air on recirc. until you have past it. I do that a lot when driving down highways that I know have offencive areas. I works Rather Well.

/lesson

Bud

[bsmart]

further to Bud's comments...

However, in summer weather it is fine to put it on recycled air to help cool the interior down. This cools the air faster. The A/C does not have to cool the cooler recycled air as much as the hotter fresh air. Once the car interior is cool you can revert back to fresh air to improve air quality if that is your concern. Otherwise you could leave it on and reduce the amount of work the A/C has to do to cool the interior down.

In hot dry weather you will not have to worry about fogged windows. But if for some reason you do have a lot of moisture and it does start to fog up, switch back to fresh air intake.

[Xandria]

thanks for the extra information! That is very sound advice. It is not typically humid in Vancouver, but over the years it has been increasing at a rather startling rate. When I first moved to Vancouver 10 years ago, the heat was extremely dry. Having come from Toronto, it was quite a difference. But sometimes now I feel the pressure on my lungs from the humidity that I remember all too well from very hot, humid and sticky Toronto summers.

One thing, slightly off topic, that I really like about the smart car cockpit, is that everything is very close and within reach. This makes switching between different modes very easy and doesn't distract you from driving.

[SmartieParts]

The smart is very air-tight compared to other cars. I don't believe it is wise to use the recycled air for long times. It isn't so much for the fogging, but more for air quality. The manual strongly recommends leaving it on fresh air, but does say to rapidly heat or cool the car to use recycled.

Otherwise, I would only use it if the immediate surrounding air is of even lower quality: stuck in heavy traffic, driving a dusty road, or passing through Abbotsford.

- Steve

[spinner]

As of Sunday, June 5, Toronto and area are under a heat wave of 30+ degrees plus humidity. On my day trip I had to use the A/C high setting, plus recirculated air, plus the blower on medium to break the heat. Even so, the A/C seemed to cycle itself, not really going so far to make the cabin comfortable, but to take several degrees off the temperature.

I'm not impressed with the air conditioning performance.

[SmartieParts]

Try taking it off recirc.

But for the most part, it doesn't get things as COLD as most cars. I too was dissapointed with it until I realized I was as cool as I would be without needing the A/C on a cooler day... lol, does that make sense? It doesn't get it cold, but it lowers it down to warm... which is better than hot

Anyway, I know nothing of fluid dynamics or HVAC so I don't know really, but the manual does say to run it on vented/fresh air whenever possible. That's probably for air quality rather than temperature, but you might as well give it a try.

[beepbeep]

definitely one of the weak spots of the smart: weak a/c and inefficient windshield defog, even with the a/c

[TFM]

I found putting the blower on MAX helped too.

The middle vent will be much colder then the two sides...

The sides get heated up by the dash as the air flows though it.

[SmartieParts]

At least I can say my smart is MUCH better than my Suzuki at cooling and defrosting. I've never had a car worse than that one in that regard, so its easy to impress me

[Adrian]

you guys should've all gotten cabrios haha, no cooling complaints so far

[TFM]

you guys should've all gotten cabrios haha, no cooling complaints so far

How about sunburn?

[SmartieParts]

Hehehe

[Bud Colby]

As of Sunday, June 5, Toronto and area are under a heat wave of 30+ degrees plus humidity. On my day trip I had to use the A/C high setting, plus recirculated air, plus the blower on medium to break the heat. Even so, the A/C seemed to cycle itself, not really going so far to make the cabin comfortable, but to take several degrees off the temperature.

I'm not impressed with the air conditioning performance.

Any A/C will be better than nothing, which is what my Metro's, Sprints and Swifts have had.

Bud

[spinner]

I just saw a potential customer return from a test drive, looking all sweaty and describing the A/C function as an unsatisfactory feature.

Myself, there's next to no cooling action from using fresh air. No point making Grunty and myself suffer for that. For my city driving, I might as well just have the windows open since even on a hot, muggy day I'm getting more cooling from the winchill effect.

[SmartieParts]

I don't know - seems odd. We had some days hotter than that here, and it did a fairly ok job cooling. Certainly better than rolling down the windows. Maybe its a TO vs VAN difference, or maybe your A/C isn't up to snuff ?

[Xandria]

I don't know - seems odd. We had some days hotter than that here, and it did a fairly ok job cooling. Certainly better than rolling down the windows. Maybe its a TO vs VAN difference, or maybe your A/C isn't up to snuff ?

I'm not sure about anyone else who has lived in both locations, but I certainly feel that both weather and climate conditions are completely different in Toronto and Vancouver. Toronto is far more humid, and as far as I'm concerned Vancouver has very little humidity (although it has been on the rise in recent years) -- but Vancouver is nowhere near as humid as Toronto can get. Even half of Toronto's humidity would kill most Vancouver people, and I feel that this definitely impacts how successful one feels the air conditioner is behaving. 32?C in Vancouver is quite a cry from 32?C in Toronto.

I must admit, as much as I do not like the very cold and wet rain of Vancouver, I do not miss Toronto's muggy summers where showering twice per day is the norm. Mind you, Toronto has the best rain storms!

This does sadden me a bit to think that Toronto summers may adversely affect smart car sales, but I can see that as a commuter car for some, it might not be the wisest choice. I wonder if smart would be willing to improve the AC feature.

One thing that did help us though on that really hot day Vancouver had last week or so was running the AC with the windows down for a bit until the AC was pumping cool air and then closing the windows. Remember, it can get a bit stuffy inside a small car when you first get in, so blow that warm air out first.

My two cents.

[Bud Colby]

I don't know - seems odd. We had some days hotter than that here, and it did a fairly ok job cooling. Certainly better than rolling down the windows. Maybe its a TO vs VAN difference, or maybe your A/C isn't up to snuff ?

Here in Medicine Hat it can get very Hot, sometimes into the mid to upper 30's for weeks at a time and very dry. It will be very interesting to see how the smart can deal with that. It may just be a matter of the humidity making a differance. Maybe?

Bud