On sticky humid days, leaving your car parked in the sun is like preheating your oven. With all that glass and no ventilation, you create a greenhouse every time you park in the sun. Without any protection, sitting in a hot car can be an uncomfortable and suffocating experience.
You can blast your air conditioner but how long can you wait before you melt in your seat? To ensure your car doesn’t turn into a sauna, follow these tips on how to keep your car cool on hot summer days.
1.Window Protection
Sun Shade
Sun shades are one of the more commonly used and efficient tools to keep your car cool during the summer. By leaving your sun shade in the front windshield, you’re removing the main cause of solar heat gain.
How do sun shades work? Simple, the sun shade material is made up of reflective polyester that blocks and reflects UV and infrared heat from piercing into the interior of your car.
Car Curtains
Like home curtains, car curtains, or shields, keep sun rays and heat from consuming your vehicle. They’re basically sun shades for your side or back windows.
Tinted Windows
Other than ducking the paparazzi, tinted windows are great at evading heat and keeping your car cool in the summer. Depending on the kind of window tint, they can reduce interior heat from 35% to 80%. Tinted windows reduce your car’s solar heat gain by blocking out thermal rays. Additionally, a tint can also reduce glare when driving.
2.Interior Covers
The Hot Seat
Ask anyone with leather seats how they feel about getting into their car in the summer while wearing shorts! During the summer months, your seats can feel like sitting on hot coals.
The solution? Purchasing light coloured (non-leather or vinyl) seat covers or blankets will protect your seats from overheating. The fabric will insulate your seats and can reduce the number of rays being absorbed by your chair.
Hot Wheels
Another interior part of your car that can feel like you are touching a hot element is your steering wheel. Again, a cover or blanket is your best solution for keeping heat rays from turning your steering wheel into a hot pretzel. Sun shields will also go a long way to prevent direct heat absorption into the steering wheel.
Dashboard Cover
A dashboard cover, sometimes called a dash pad, is simply a piece of material you place on top of the dashboard. By installing a dash cover, you’re protecting the front of your car from heat and sunlight. Many dashboard covers are made of a material that absorbs the heat and UV rays instead of reflecting that heat throughout the vehicle.
The dashboard can also become the dustiest place in your vehicle. A fabric dashboard cover will protect your indoor air quality against dust and dirt by swallowing any debris, allowing for an easy vacuum clean.
3.Gadgets
Cooling Cushions
Instead of regular seat covers, you can upgrade to cooling cushions. A gadget that doesn’t only keep your car cool in the summer but your behind as well. These seat covers will often employ a small fan to allow for air circulation between you and the seat – preventing your skin and clothes from sticking to the seat or to you.
Reflective Car Paint
Not even Bob Ross could have prepared you for this. Surprisingly, reflective car paint can reduce the overall heat in your car. While regular paint only reduces 5% of heat, applying reflective paint reduces 60% of interior heat.
Solar Ventilation
Here’s a great idea – a solar-powered fan that keeps circulating fresh air into your vehicle when it’s parked. Solar ventilation machines will increase air circulation, reduce humidity and drops interior temperatures with cool air.
4.Proactive Tips
When a Door Closes, Open a Window
Don’t let that hot air marinate in your car. To keep your car cool in the summer heat, you can crack your windows or even leave them open. This allows fresh air to circulate through your vehicle instead of allowing all that hot air to fester.
Air Conditioning Before You Leave
It’s always a good idea to leave your car on to warm up before you leave during cold days, you should apply that same concept to the summer. Turn your car on before you leave to allow time for the air conditioning to take effect. Make sure you’re checking on it yearly, you may see issues like your AC only blowing hot air.
Park in the Shade
Instead of parking your car in the blazing sun, find a parking spot with shade. A majority of the heat in your car comes from direct sunlight. By parking in the shade, you’re out of range from heat rays and your car will remain much cooler when you return.
We Know Cars
Maintaining a cool car can be difficult, but maintaining your car can be as well. From body damages to mechanical repairs, we make it our job to know the in’s and out’s of your car. Request a quote with Bemac today!
