Why shouldn't you continuously take in fresh air when turning on the car's air conditioner?

Many drivers turn on the car air conditioner out of habit without understanding how the air intake modes work. This causes lethargy, suffocation, and drowsiness when driving continuously for many hours.

With the weather conditions in Vietnam, many drivers often have the habit of turning on the air conditioner as soon as they start the car. On most car models, the air conditioning system usually has two functions: taking in air from inside and outside. The common habit of car users is to take in air from inside to avoid dust and bad odors from the outside environment.

Vietnamese people often have the habit of only turning on the air intake mode while driving. Photo: Chi Tam

However, experienced drivers often tell each other that they should not continuously take in fresh air in their cars, especially when traveling long distances. Many people may have heard this but do not know the reason behind it.

Basically, when selecting the internal air intake mode, the system will take air from inside the cabin, pass it through the evaporator or heater of the air conditioning system to change the temperature. This helps to cool quickly, stabilize the temperature and limit dust and odors from the outside environment from entering the car.

However, if the air intake mode is left on for hours, the recirculation process will reuse the old air in the car. Over time, CO2 will accumulate due to the breathing process of the people inside. When the CO2 concentration increases and the amount of oxygen decreases, the people in the car are prone to drowsiness, fatigue, sleepiness and difficulty concentrating. This is especially dangerous for the driver, because a moment of distraction can lead to the risk of an accident.

Taking in outside air is a way to refresh the air in the car, reducing CO2 levels. Photo: OTODETIK

On some modern car models today, manufacturers equip automatic air conditioning systems, with a mechanism to automatically convert internal air intake to external air (or vice versa) to circulate and refresh the air in the cabin and ensure oxygen concentration. However, there are still popular car models that still use manual air conditioning or do not integrate the automatic air intake mode conversion feature.

Therefore, for car models that still use mechanical or automatic air conditioning systems but do not have the function of automatically switching to the air-conditioning mode, it is necessary to proactively switch to the outside air-conditioning mode every 30 - 40 minutes. This will help maintain comfort, alertness, and avoid stuffiness inside the cabin. However, it is still necessary to pay attention to arranging appropriate rest time while driving, especially when there are signs of drowsiness to ensure safety and avoid unnecessary incidents.

AD Advertising

Source: https://baonghean.vn/tai-sao-khong-nen-lay-gio-trong-lien-tuc-khi-bat-dieu-hoa-o-to-10299185.html