Drivers are being urged to close the air vents in their car this week during the hot weather – in a bid to cool your car down.
With the UK in the grip of a baking heatwave this week and temperatures circling around 32C, driving can become a difficult experience.
Sitting in a hot car under a windscreen being baked by the sun is far from ideal, and drivers are always looking for ways to keep cool in the sunny conditions.
It might sound counterintuitive but one method to keep your car cool involves closing the air vents.
Drivers are being told to close the top air vents, and open the bottom ones instead.
This is because heat rises – so sticking the lower vents on instead of higher ones forces hot air out of the car.
Breakdown experts at the RAC said: “Heat rises, so it makes sense to blast the cooler, air-conditioned air into the footwells, forcing the hot air already inside the car upwards and out of the open windows.
“Shut off the upper vents on the dashboard and at the base of the windscreen so that the full flow of air into the car is directed upwards.
Once the aircon has got nice and cold, you should close your windows and switch to circulated air. Then, you can open the top vents again as desired.
Other ways to keep your car cool include putting a blanket over the windscreen, and park in shaded spots, such as under trees.
This is because of the ‘greenhouse effect’ which makes your car hotter when the sun shines through windows, which can be mitigated if windows are covered up or out of direct sunlight.
Otherwise, leaving your window open during the worst of the sunshine, and covering up your sunroof, can all help.
