Comfort is essential to driving, especially if the journey is long and the weather is hot and humid. Cooled seats or ventilated seats play a vital role in keeping the motorist and passengers cool, especially during summers. With these seats, each occupant gets sufficient cooling. These features are now getting common in vehicles.
Let’s take a closer look at how cooled seats work and what function ventilated seats serve.
WHAT ARE COOLED CAR SEATS
In the simplest terms, a cooled car seat is one of the luxury features that blows refrigerated air onto the vehicle’s occupant seats during hot and humid weather. The interesting thing about it is that each seat has its individual controls and can be operated separately. Thus, drivers and passengers can set their preferred seat temperatures at ease.
Cooled seats are offered as a luxury upgrade by different auto manufacturers in their modern vehicles.
HOW DO COOLED SEATS WORK
The tiny holes in your car seat’s upholstery, also known as perforated upholstery, blow refrigerated air at the seat’s occupant. The refrigerated air usually comes from the car’s AC or your seat’s cooling system. The air refrigeration process involves compressing the gas and then condensing it into a liquid.
This liquid passes through the expansion valve, turns back into a gas, and continues the cooling procedure and hence, yields the refrigerated air.
In modern cars with cooled seats, motorists can adjust the air temperature according to their comfort. Also, in some car models, the cooled seats are controlled remotely. Hence, before you get into the car, you can easily set the seat’s temperature, especially if the car is parked outdoors on a hot summer day.
Moreover, cooled seats save fuel compared to conventional air-conditioning systems in cars. This is because these seats blow refrigerated air and cools the individual seats instead of cooling the whole cabin. Also, like we turn off car AC to save fuel, the same does not apply to cooled car seats. Keeping the cooled seats on does not affect fuel consumption.
WHAT ARE VENTILATED SEATS
Ventilated seats serve the same purpose as cooled seats, the only difference is that ventilated seats direct non-refrigerated air. The air from ventilated seats blow out evenly via the perforated upholstery onto the motorist and passengers.
Ventilated seats are one of the luxury features added in new vehicle models by many auto manufacturers, especially to offer comfort on long journeys.
HOW VENTILATED SEATS WORK
The ventilated seats have fans and small ducts installed in their cushions and backrests that facilitate cool air movement. The air is drawn from the car’s cabin by the fans in the ventilated seats and blown through the tiny holes in the upholstery.
Ventilated seats can also be turned on and off. Also, the motorists can set the air force coming from these seats. Furthermore, many modern cars have ventilated seats that automatically start blowing cool air upon detecting hot temperatures. Also, ventilated seats can be set to ‘auto’ mode to turn on when the cabin’s temperature reaches the desired level.
When ventilated seats are turned on, the fans start blowing air at the highest speed and gradually slow down. Also, some vehicles feature different fan speeds that motorists can adjust according to their preference or temperature.
The ventilated seats in cars help reduce body temperature and minimise sweating by maintaining the temperature of the seats, especially during summer. Moreover, ventilated seats can function with other car seats, for instance, heated, cooled, power and massage seats.
Cooled and ventilated seats are two features in a car that make the journey comfortable for everyone. If your car does not have any of the two features, you can buy air-conditioned seat cushions. These cushions serve the same purpose and can easily be plugged into your car.
LIST OF CARS WITH COOLED SEATS OR VENTILATED SEATS
Modern vehicles offer cooling car seat cushions/cooled seats and ventilated seats. If you are interested to buy a car with cooled seats or ventilated seats, then you may choose from the following popular auto brands’ 2022 models:
- AUDI – A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, E-tron, E-tron GT, Q5, Q7, Q8
- CHEVROLET – Blazer, Bolt EUV, Camaro, Corvette, Equinox, Malibu, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Traverse, Suburban, Tahoe
- BMW – 4 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, 8 Series, i4, iX, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7
- DODGE – Challenger, Charger, Durango
- FORD – Edge, Expedition, Explorer, F-150, F-150 Lightning, Super Duty F-250/350/450, Mustang
- JAGUAR – E-Pace, F-Pace, F-Type, XF
- JEEP – Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee 4xe, Grand Cherokee L, Grand Wagoneer, Wagoneer
- LAMBORGHINI – Urus
- LAND ROVER – Defender, Discovery, Discovery Sport, Range Rover, Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover Velar
- MERCEDES-BENZ – A-Class, AMG GT, AMG SL, C-Class, CLA-Class, CLS-Class, E-Class, EQB, EQS, G-Class, GLA-Class, GLB-Class, GLC-Class, GLE-Class, GLS-Class, S-Class
- NISSAN – Armada, Maxima, Murano, Pathfinder, Titan, Titan XD
- PORSCHE – 718, 911 Sport Classic 2023, Cayenne, Macan, Panamera, Taycan
- TESLA – Model S, Model X
- ROLLS-ROYCE – Cullinan, Ghost, Phantom
These are just a few of the options we have compiled for your assistance. Browse through these used cars in the UAE, and you might be able to find a slightly older model with this feature.
CAN YOU ADD AFTERMARKET COOLED SEATS OR VENTILATED SEATS?
Car owners can apply aftermarket cooled seats or ventilated seats to their vehicle model. There are different ways to go about this. For instance, you can install seat covers integrated with cooling elements. If you know how to change your car seat covers, you might be able to do it yourself. Also, you can get a separate cooling system that can be integrated or attached to your car’s seat.
In conclusion, we still do not vote in favour or against a specific type of cooling system. The consensus is unclear; some people find cooled seats more comfortable, whereas others find ventilated more effective at cooling the car as well as themselves. Thus, it is up to the individual to decide which type of seat they would like best for their vehicles. Besides, if you need to clean your car, make sure you know how to remove car seats for deep cleaning without causing any damage.
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