Air Con on all year? or once a month ? Or just in summer?

[Alex.S]

I’ve looked at the mk4 manual on the app about this , can’t find a straight answer..

[stef123]

For the 9 years I had my mondeo I left the aircon on permanently. Under a certain temp it will not kick in. 

[Alex.S]

All sorts of opinions on this online. 30mins cold air every month I’ve read. I thought maybe with 2020 cars that’s no longer necessary 

[Tommo17]

Have my on all year round 

[sussamb]

I put mine on when I need it 🙂

[iantt]

Always on. 

[StephenFord]

Every car I have ever had with A/C, and I think the first one I had was back in 1990 (!) it was & is, never turned off!

[Alex.S]

13 minutes ago, iantt said:

Always on. 

Do you switch it to cold sometimes in winter? 

[Alex.S]

I’ve read air con uses 10% more fuel 

[StephenFord]

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

I’ve read air con uses 10% more fuel 

I've read vegetables are good for you 🤣

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

I've read vegetables are good for you 🤣

Potatoes? 

[StephenFord]

Just now, Alex.S said:

Potatoes? 

Cabbage! LOL

[Alex.S]

Just now, StephenFord said:

Cabbage! LOL

You grow cabbage next to the potatoes? 

[Alex.S]

6 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Cabbage! LOL

Do u turn the air con cold sometimes during winter? 

[iantt]

6 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

Do you switch it to cold sometimes in winter? 

In winter it keeps the windows demisted. On my Mondeo it's got climate control so it does it's thing whatever the weather. Set to 20c and auto all year round. Only exception is on a very cold frozen morning when it's max defrost setting, putting both heated screens on, PTC heater on fan on high on screen max heat. 

[StephenFord]

3 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

Do u turn the air con cold sometimes during winter? 

I refer you to my earlier answer,m it is ALWAYS on. As mentioned, it keeps the glass permanently demisted, and doesn't make you look like a prat driving around with a letterbox view out your windscreen LOL Fundamentally, A/C supplies de humidified air, it's not all about temperature...

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, iantt said:

In winter it keeps the windows demisted. On my Mondeo it's got climate control so it does it's thing whatever the weather. Set to 20c and auto all year round. Only exception is on a very cold frozen morning when it's max defrost setting, putting both heated screens on, PTC heater on fan on high on screen max heat. 

I’ve got climate control. 

Is rarely having the air con on bad for the car? 

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

I refer you to my earlier answer,m it is ALWAYS on. As mentioned, it keeps the glass permanently demisted, and doesn't make you look like a prat driving around with a letterbox view out your windscreen LOL

I’ve got a heated front windscreen. Ok it’s always on but never running cold in winter? 

[Alex.S]

3 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

it's not all about temperature...

That’s what I was getting at b4 you brought up potatoes. 

[StephenFord]

1 minute ago, Alex.S said:

I’ve got a heated front windscreen. Ok it’s always on but never running cold in winter? 

Personally, I like a chilled car. Anything around 16c I find comfortable. If I have the missus with me, an argument always ensues, and being a true man, I always lose...

[Alex.S]

1 minute ago, StephenFord said:

Personally, I like a chilled car. Anything around 16c I find comfortable. If I have the missus with me, an argument always ensues, and being a true man, I always lose...

NI is same as Glasgow..rarely above 16C. 

I thought aircon was for cooling only . That’s why I started the thread

[Alex.S]

5 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

, I always lose.

It’s not about losing it’s about letting her think she’s won. 

[iantt]

18 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

It’s not about losing it’s about letting her think she’s won. 

That's the joys of dual climate control. I have 20c and other half normally 22-24 c 

Win win 

[StephenFord]

10 minutes ago, iantt said:

That's the joys of dual climate control. I have 20c and other half normally 22-24 c 

Win win 

I must confess to being cynical. My old Merc had dual climate, and yes, the air temp shooting out the vents may have been different, but it all mixes pretty quick. Kinda like in the 80s when smoking was allowed on airplane flights. Up to row 10 you could smoke, 11+ was non smoking, so if you were a non smoker and sat in row 11, you still got plenty of cancerous fumes LOL

[Another Richard]

Keeping the aircon running means the seals don't dry out and leak. I had a Mondeo for 10 years from nearly-new and left the a/c on full-time. It never needed any attention, was never re-gassed, and was blowing ice-cold on the day I sold it.  As others have said, it not only cools the air but dries it, which keeps the cabin pleasant in any weather and keeps the windows mist-free. I did switch it off occasionally to see if there was any effect on fuel consumption.  If there was, it wasn't enough for the onboard mpg readout to notice.

I thought it was significant that Ford gave you a button marked 'AC Off', which sort of implies that AC On is the default condition.