Keeping Your Car Cool in a South Carolina Summer

Columbia, South Carolina, is described as having a humid subtropical climate which means hot, humid summers. That means three months of highs in the 90s and two other months with average highs that aren’t far below. Unless you are fortunate enough to have covered parking at work, that means many days of coming out to a very hot car. Dick Smith INFINITI has these suggestions for mitigating your car’s cabin heat in the summer. 

What Makes Your Car So Hot 

Captain Obvious will tell you it’s the sun. His nerdier brother would elaborate by explaining that shortwave infrared light from the sun carries heat and enters your car through the windows. When it contacts the interior surfaces, the infrared light transforms into waves that cannot exit through the windows as they originally entered. Therefore, they remain in the car, heating the air inside as they pass through it. The best way to cool down your car is to mitigate the heat initially. Here are some suggestions. 

Finding Shade 

Suggesting that you find shade for your car is the second most obvious statement in this article. However, be aware that even though it is hot outside, your car won’t get hotter than the outdoors as long as sunlight doesn’t penetrate through the windows; therefore, any method that prevents sunlight from entering the car is beneficial. Of course, this has a downside if the shade comes from a tree that attracts birds or generously shares its sap, but your car will be cooler. 

Cracking Windows or Sunroof 

The infrared rays still find their way into your car, but at least the heated air is slowly being replaced. There are some obvious security concerns here. Also, it’s not uncommon for the Columbia area to experience hot weather and rain on the same day. If your car has a sunroof, cracking it can mitigate, though not eliminate, the security issue, but you lose some cross-ventilation in the process. 

Windshield Sunshade 

Unless you own a vintage fastback coupe, the angle of the windshield is the largest source of the sun’s infrared light. An easily affordable windshield cover secured by the sun visors can significantly reduce your car’s interior temperature. A reflective surface facing the windshield is most effective, although any shade made of mylar can also work well.  

Window Tint 

South Carolina law allows window tinting around all windows but the windshield. The back window, rear side windows, and front side windows can all be tinted up to the point that only 27% of light still comes through. The windshield can only be tinted down to what is known as the AS-1 line, which is usually about five inches down from the upper edge of the windshield. Consequently, the windshield sunshade may still be a good idea. Other restrictions prohibit tinting with a reflective surface. It costs more, but ceramic tinting, which uses nano-ceramic particles that effectively block infrared heat, is more effective at heat reduction than normal tint.  

Car Cover 

This may require a bit of effort to apply every day at work, but it will help keep your car cooler. While anything that covers your windows will reduce the heat, a car cover is made from materials that are not abrasive to your paint. A cover designed for your specific model will remain securely in place during windy days.   

Surface Covers 

If you are accustomed to breathing the hot air but struggle with the heat radiating from the surfaces of the seats or steering wheel, consider covering them. A simple cloth will suffice in the same way it shields your skin from direct sunlight. You can use a fancy seat cover or a beach towel. Both options will be effective.   

Cooling Down an Already-Hot Interior 

If you have the INFINITI app with remote starting, this is the best time to use it. You can start your vehicle one or two minutes before you reach the car, allowing it to cool by the time you arrive. If you don’t have that option or simply didn’t think of it in advance, lower your windows right away. It may still be hot outside, but your car interior will be hotter, and any temperature reduction you achieve by letting the hot air escape is beneficial. If it’s breezy, just stand outside the car for a minute. If the air is still, you might need to drive a bit with the windows down to expel the hot air. Turn on the air conditioning and then close the front windows, leaving the rear ones open a bit longer so the cooler air can flow through the front and push the hot air out of the back.    

We hope this provides you with some new ideas for managing the heat inside your car during the hot summer months. If you have questions about car covers or window tinting, Dick Smith INFINITI is here to assist you. Perhaps you’re interested in a model that can start remotely to cool your car by the time you arrive. We can certainly help you with that as well.