What is the function of the A/C button on a car?
On the car's air conditioning control panel, there is an A/C button – short for Air Conditioner, which means to turn the air conditioner on or off.
Therefore, to turn on the air conditioning in your car, you simply press the A/C button.
Air conditioning is one of the essential components in a car, helping to provide a fresh, clean, and cool atmosphere.
However, not all drivers know how to use their car's air conditioning effectively while saving fuel. So, how do you use your car's air conditioning correctly? Which mode should you choose?
Car air conditioning controls
Although each car model will have its own unique air conditioning control panel design to match the car's interior, most are located in the center of the dashboard. In addition, this control panel will include several functional clusters as follows:
The AC button is the on/off switch for the car's air conditioning. Simply press this button on your car after the engine has started to turn on the air conditioning system.
However, after turning on the A/C button to get the air conditioner working optimally, you need to make further adjustments using the surrounding control buttons. Specifically:
Blue indicates cooling mode (low temperature).
Red indicates the heating mode (high temperature).
The knob with the fan icon is used to adjust the fan speed. Turning this knob to the right or upwards increases the fan speed.
The button with the seated person symbol and arrows helps adjust the airflow direction in the car with 4 modes: blowing towards the occupant, blowing towards the person and legs, blowing towards the legs, or heating the windshield.
The button with the car icon and arrow: Used to adjust the air intake mode of the car's air conditioning. If the car icon has an arrow pointing from outside to inside, this is the outside air intake mode. Conversely, if the button has a car icon with an arrow pointing inwards, it is the inside air intake mode.
Auto button: This button adjusts the air conditioning to automatic mode.
Common air conditioning modes in cars
Temperature adjustment modeWith this mode, the driver can customize the temperature to their liking. Turning the knob to the left or pressing the decrease button will lower the temperature inside the car. Conversely, turning the knob to the right or pressing the increase button will raise the temperature, making the interior warmer.
Fan modeAll car air conditioning systems are equipped with a fan. Therefore, you can use it to ventilate and cool the cabin without turning on the air conditioner. However, when adjusting the fan speed, you need to be careful because the higher the setting, the stronger the fan, which also means more noise inside the car.
Wind direction modeCar air conditioners have various airflow direction settings. Drivers can use the symbols to select the appropriate mode. Usually, the lowest setting on the rotary knob will direct the airflow to the windshield defroster.
Internal and external air intake modes"Internal air intake" means the air conditioning system uses air from within the vehicle, while "external air intake" means the air conditioner uses air from the environment to cool the cabin. Depending on the driving conditions, the driver will choose the appropriate mode.
