Assuming your heater, air conditioner, and blower motor all work correctly, you should use your heater defroster in cold weather, and your air conditioner defogger in warm weather.
Note the difference in environmental control terms…
DEFROSTER > Used for cold climate, heater, to melt the frost off your windshield.
DEFOGGER > Used for warm humid climate, air conditioner, to dehumidify the air.
Failing either heater or air conditioner, welp, just do what we do and roll the windows down.
Yeah… no… that’s only the newer generation of vehicles, the enshittified ones that assume everything for you.
Back in the 90’s and 2000’s, the engineers had common sense and if the temperature dial was set anywhere above 50%, the air conditioner would never turn on, as it’s a waste of energy at that point.
My 78 Chrysler was designed to use the AC in defrost mode even in a winter blizzard and was much more effective and drying the windshield because of it. Most heating/cooling system in cars were combined much earlier than that to take advantage of dehumidifying the air. It also has the benefit to run the compressor to keep lubrication and stop seals from drying out in the AC system that would otherwise not be used to months at a time.
There are some vehicles with separate heating and AC systems, (mainly cheap or aftermarket units) but the vast majority run together. (At least in North American cars.)
over_clox@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
I think you got the right idea, just backwards…
Assuming your heater, air conditioner, and blower motor all work correctly, you should use your heater defroster in cold weather, and your air conditioner defogger in warm weather.
Note the difference in environmental control terms…
Failing either heater or air conditioner, welp, just do what we do and roll the windows down.
Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
Both of those settings turn on the A/C to remove moisture.
over_clox@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Yeah… no… that’s only the newer generation of vehicles, the enshittified ones that assume everything for you.
Back in the 90’s and 2000’s, the engineers had common sense and if the temperature dial was set anywhere above 50%, the air conditioner would never turn on, as it’s a waste of energy at that point.
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
My 78 Chrysler was designed to use the AC in defrost mode even in a winter blizzard and was much more effective and drying the windshield because of it. Most heating/cooling system in cars were combined much earlier than that to take advantage of dehumidifying the air. It also has the benefit to run the compressor to keep lubrication and stop seals from drying out in the AC system that would otherwise not be used to months at a time.
There are some vehicles with separate heating and AC systems, (mainly cheap or aftermarket units) but the vast majority run together. (At least in North American cars.)
SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
Uhhh my 96 civic had an air conditioner button, and it also turned on when you turned the defroster on.
You’re making shit up, it’s a simple interconnection.
Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
My 2015 vehicle does it that way, so it’s not exactly a recent change in design philosophy…