[bombcar]

Here’s a thing I realized about climate controls that is NOT intuitive - it is not about the temperature/humidity in the car or room! That’s only an accident - it’s about how the person/people feel.

So the older cars work closer to that because they basically have the options “blow hot/cold air on me” instead of “try to maintain this temperature”.

I can be quite comfortable in a wide range of temperatures if I can get a blast of cold or hot air “on demand”.

[Retric]

Car temperature controls can work really well, but they need to account for IR radiation through the windows. If the sun is shinning in my lap the comfortable temperature for the air goes down, if it’s snowing outside the comfortable temperature goes up.

On top of this if it’s cold outside I may be wearing very warm clothes in my car and not actually want room temperature.

[sbradford26]

I have had several cars with automatic temperature control and there is a lot of variability in the quality of the systems. My 06 F150 the system was terrible always having to adjust the temp up and down, but my 07 BMW X3 I set the temperature and never had to adjust it year round. My current vehicle is a 2022 Ford Maverick and the climate control is pretty consistent. If I am wearing a jacket in the car it is set to 66 and if I am not it is 68.

[andix]

Good automatics have an IR/heat sensor on the dashboard, and use that information in their calculations. I know that Saab already had them in the 90s.

[magicalhippo]

Indeed. During winter, my SO turns the temperature to max and adjusts fan speed to comfort.

This is because she wants hot air on her hands, and in order to get enough hot air on her hands with a "normal" set-point temperature, the fans must be turned up enough that the wind chill makes her feel cold.

Instead she prefers very hot air, but at a limited rate.

[Cthulhu_]

I have a little fan on my desk both at work and at home because while I may not be too hot or cold, I do like a bit of airflow. I'm sure sitting still causes a local buildup of CO2 or something, plus mental work needs a lot of oxygen and some cooling I'm sure.