Car Air Cooling System

We have all been driving down a long highway on a hot summer’s day, stuck to the seat of the car with perspiration. The heat can really get to you and can eventually cause quite a distraction to your driving. Luckily most cars these days are fitted with a car air cooling system and we think nothing of the heat. But what is this cooling system, how does it work and how can we maintain it?

What is a car air cooling system?

The engine in your car will actually operate at very high temperatures. All the moving parts and the intake of fuel do of course generate heat. This is why in the engine bay of most cars there is a car cooling system. The primary purpose of this system is to regulate the temperature of the engine itself, to keep it running. The engine will overheat if it’s kept too hot, and will not work well if too cold, so the cooling system needs to keep the temperature at the constant and acceptable rate. This system is made of many different parts which include:

• Radiator
• Thermostat
• Various hoses
• Fan
• Water pump
• Fins

On top of the engine there will be a number of aluminium fins which can be used to control the heat and take it away from the engine. The large fan pushes air over these fins, and as the air goes over the fins it takes the heat away from the engine. This then allows the engine to be cooled, using the air around it.

Cooling the Inside of the Car

Just like the engine, the inside of the car can suffer from hot temperatures as well. This may be because the car itself is heating up or the sun is causing it to become even hotter inside the car. Air conditioning may have been a luxury in the past, is actually found in most cars on the road today. These systems allow car users to cool the inside of the car to a crisp temperature without the need to open windows. Without getting too far into mechanical engineering, this is how air conditioning unit works inside your car. Some type of gas (can vary) is placed into a specially sealed system. A compressor is then used to pressurise this gas, and as the gas gets pressurised it actually takes in the heat from around it. The gas is then sent through a series of tubes to lose the heat it has gained, and in doing this becomes a cool liquid. In turn we get a cool blast of air coming out of the air conditioner and a trail of liquid going out of the car.

A car air cooling system in fact is two unique processes that each has a different job. One cools the engine whilst the other cools the driver of the car. The science behind this all can get pretty tricky, but the end result is a smooth running car that isn’t too hot for the person driving it.

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