Should I leave my car air conditioning on all the time?

By David Sholicar

Air con in your vehicle can be invaluable, especially when you are driving around on hot, stuffy days. Rather than open a window and letting in pollution and noise, switching on your air con can have your vehicle cool and fresh in a matter of seconds. That being said, it does not make sense to leave your air con running all the time.

air conditioning controls

In our experience, switching off your air con when you are not using it is a good idea. Not only can permanent running be a drain on your battery, but it can also shorten the length of time between air con re-gassing. When the time does come for you to refresh your air con with an air con regas, look no further than Protyre. Our air con engineers are all certified with the Safe Handling of Refrigerants certificate, ensuring that your air con is maintained to the highest level and to the required legal standards.

Air con maintenance is important, and we always recommend having an air con regas carried out at least once every two years in order to ensure that your air con system stays in good working order. At Protyre, years of experience tell us that regular regassing is the best way to ensure that your air con will work whenever you need it, in both the summer and the winter.

In fact, using your air con in the winter is as effective for your vehicle as running it in the summer because an air con system in good working order will allow you to clear misty windows in minutes, keeping you safe on the road. When you do find yourself in need of some cool air in the midst of summer, remember to keep your vehicle's windows closed. Opening windows when the air con is running allows exterior air to flow back inside, warming up the interior and putting additional stress on your air con system.

The more stress your system is under, the more energy (and therefore fuel) it will burn to keep it efficiently running, and the more you will need to spend at the service station!

In addition to air con and general vehicle maintenance, at Protyre we care about providing the correct tyre for every individual vehicle. From manufacturers including Bridgestone and Pirelli, we have tyres to suit every budget and for every type of vehicle. You can browse and buy your new tyres now through the Protyre website, with many of our branches able to offer same day fitting on some of the tyres in our range.

The next time your air con requires some expert care and maintenance, or when you are looking for some brand-new tyres, look no further than Protyre, the local garage you can trust. With easy, online booking, you can also take advantage of free vehicle checks, or expert servicing for your vehicle, today.

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About the author

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By David Sholicar
David is the National Retail Operations Manager for Protyre. One of David’s areas of responsibility and expertise is dealing with the DVSA and MOT’s for Protyre. As the Authorised Examiner Designate Manager ( AEDM ) David deals with applications for changes to the many Vehicle Testing Stations ( VTS’s) including managing the growth of the Number of MOT testing stations that Protyre operate, allocating MOT tester roles, and monitoring the MOT Test logs to ensure that Protyre MOT standards are maintained as the best in the industry.
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