The Difference Between Climate Control and Air Conditioning

If you’re curious about what the difference between climate control and air conditioning is, read our article.

At 5-Minute Crafts, we decided to investigate this question thoroughly. And in the bonus section, you’ll know how to tell which of the devices your car is equipped with.

What is air conditioning?

Air conditioners work on the principle of liquid evaporation. It’s well known that heat is needed to change a liquid to a gas. Heat is absorbed from the area in contact with the liquid, thereby cooling it.

An air conditioner processes air in the same way as a refrigerator, lowering its temperature with the help of a coolant. The air conditioner is powered by the engine, so a driver can adjust the system to their liking. Nevertheless, most experts advise against turning off the air conditioner. It’s better to simply adjust the temperature. This is because the air conditioner uses refrigerant to lubricate its seals. If the seals dry out, the system may start leaking.

Unlike climate control, air conditioning can only be set to one temperature across the entire car.

How does climate control work?

Climate control combines the functions of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. It uses an onboard computer that allows the driver and passengers to set the exact temperature in the cabin. There is dual-zone climate control, which allows the driver to set one temperature on their side of the car, and the passenger can change the temperature on their side to their liking.

Advantages of climate control:

• You can set a different temperature for each person.
• The system is more convenient to use than an air conditioner because the climate control sets the desired temperature and maintains it on its own, meaning you don’t have to fiddle with the settings as you would do with an air conditioner.

If it’s very hot inside the car, you can open all the windows and turn on the cabin fan while the engine is warming up. After a couple of minutes, you can turn on the climate control.

Bonus: how to tell whether your car is equipped with climate control or air conditioning

Look at the front panel of the car. If there’s a button with AC on it, your car has air conditioning.

But if the panel has a digital display showing the temperature in degrees, this is climate control. At either end of the scale, there will be “lo” and “hi” settings.