Mar 10, 2021

If you’re shopping for a new car for the first time in a few years, you might see the term “Climate Control” thrown around a lot more than ever before. The technology was once a premium feature found only on the higher trim levels of some cars, but it’s becoming more common as technology evolves. How does climate control work? The answer is pretty simple, and you can read about more in this post, and experience it yourself by scheduling a test drive in a car with climate control at Phil Meador Toyota of Pocatello, Idaho.

How is Climate Control Different from Air Conditioning?

Anyone can expect to get air conditioning (A/C) with a new car, but that doesn’t mean it will also have climate control. Both A/C and heating are necessary to make a climate control system. With regular A/C, you have to adjust fan speed and balance the temperature dial yourself, but with Climate Control, you set a temperature you want, and the system adjusts fan speeds and heating or cooling to keep the air at that temperature.

Close up on climate control system in a car
close up of climate control system in Celsius

How Does Climate Control Work?

Like a thermostat system in a home, a car with climate control has thermometers that keep track of the temperature inside your car. If you set your climate control system to 72 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, the thermostat will check the temperature, and increase or decrease the fan speed, and switch between heating and cooling as necessary to keep the temperature at that number.

How Does Dual-Zone Climate Control Work?

Once you understand climate control, dual-zone climate control is simply made to offer climate control to both the driver and passenger sides of the car. The driver and front passenger will often have one dial each and separate readouts for the temperatures they have selected. Tri-zone climate control is possible as well. SUVs, vans, and other high-passenger vehicles will sometimes have climate control buttons accessible to rear passengers so they can adjust the temperature for the back of the vehicle separately.