Quote:
Originally Posted by mirob
I keep the dial right in between hot and cold, but I've never actually waited around to see if it will blow warm air once the engine is up to operating temp. Having the AC compressor running when not using AC just always seemed counterintuitive to me.
Also, recently I've been hearing a whirring sound when the AC does come on so I've been refraining from using it whenever possible fearing a failure may be imminent...but that's a problem for a different thread...
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Do you live in a fairly cold climate? Right now in Canada, we are experiencing bit of a cold snap with temperatures well below freezing. This morning, when I set the temp to fairly warm and left it in auto, the fans stayed on a very low (almost non existent) speed for the first 5 minutes of my drive until the engine warmed up. The system is fairly smart and knows that if the engine is that cold on a day like today, turning up the fans will only blow out cold air. Even on the intensive auto mode, the fans wouldn't ramp up speed until the engine was warm.
Even if you have a large commercial building, say a large office tower, the air being pumped into the building will generally be cooled first by a large central air conditioner, then reheated (or cooled further) at the zone level. Having moist air in a vehicle or in a building can cause many issues, such as mold or mildew.
With a vehicle, since the AC compressor is belt driven, the extra fuel required to turn the compressor is pretty much negligible and I would bet that you're more likely to run into issues with the system by never using it, than by using it frequently.
Is the whirring sound you are hearing only when the AC compressor is on? Or just when air is being blown? If it's only when the AC is on, there could be something wrong with your compressor, if it's all the time, it could be the blower motor.