Affects of Heat on Car Interiors

<...almost 1.5 times...>

On what scale?

Here's a solution:

Parsecs.

Automotive manufacturers used to upholster the interiors of their cars with Vinyl. Vinyl whilst durable and cheap also retained a significant amount of heat transmitted through the glasshouse of the vehicle. However around the late 70's early eighties the vinyls were hunted to extinction which caused the automotive companies to look for more sustainable materials to utilise.

With the explosion in farming of cattle for the food trade and a glut of wool and cotton, Leather, Jacquard and denim became more readily available replacing the need for vinyl in automotive interiors.

In the 80's solar tinting became a factory option for cars fitted with airconditioning. This helped reduce the effect of the heat transmission of the suns rays through the glasshouse.

As a lad with my Ford Falcon V8 Panel van, I'd leave my hamburger on the dash to keep it warm during summer on more than one occasion. A 40 degree day would generate temps on the dash around 60 degrees Celsius.

Most Automotive manufacturers have spent cubic pfennigs on the issue of interior design which includes the environmental issues you mentioned.

Pity about the vinyls though coz them's was cute critters...

It's too bad they hunted those corinthians to extinction as well. Recardo Montalban always liked his corinthian leather.

That wasn't long after they'd killed off all of the Naugas. Can't remember the last genuine Naugahyde interior I'd seen.

Must admit that response to my question was quick, for which, I am grateful to your team of experts. One aspect, which I missed in my earlier note is related to a message I had received from some well-wisher on the internet which read as under:

" Open the windows after you enter your car and turn ON the AC after a couple of minutes" Here's Why

"According to a research, the car dashboard, sofa, air freshener emit Benzene, a Cancer causing toxin (carcinogen - take time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car)"

In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones , causes anemia and reduces white blood cells etc. etc.

Sorry for additional points mentioned above, but they are very relevant to the subject.

Google 'ventshade' or 'car window fan'. There are after-market products you can install that will allow you to keep the windows slightly open and allow venting, while still preventing rain from getting in and deterring strangers from reaching into your open car windows. There are also fan units you can install in a window that run off solar power to force air to circulate through the car.

GA

Best answer to date reading down from the top.....you beat me to it.

He should look here:-

Retail-Free-Shipping-1pcs-lot-Solar-Power-Car-Auto-Fan-Air-Vent-Portable-Car-Cooler

Move to a cooler place.

I did some research on this a few summers ago. The ambient air temp was 45°C and the inside of my pickup truck was over 65°C. In my lit review I found a research article done in China where they made a computer model of a car interior in the sun, the research showed that the most significant source of interior high temperatures was the dashboard. Many dashboards are dark material and absorb a tremendous amount of solar energy which is then released into the air inside the car. A simple windshield cover can reflect most of that away. The most effective would be a cover on the outside of the windshield.

My research was to use solar panels to cover the windshield, hood, roof and trunk of a car. The energy would charge a battery bank which would then run an air conditioner when triggered by a remote so the car could be cool when entered. I was able to get it to work on my scale model but ran out of time and resources for the vehicle application.

Drew K

Good quality window tint, reflective shades for dashboard, works for me.....

You would not like driving a car with a light colored dash at all, they have to be dark, but using a sunshade when parked can make that area far far cooler, you can even grip the steering wheel without wincing!!!

A white towel to cover the seat(s) is also a great help.

Also those solar fans already mentioned to keep the air moving out of the car....

Do all three......

Dark is best for driving because it reduces glare and light intensity for the driver. Perhaps the best solution would be a material that was white but turned dark when the vehicle is started. Another option would be a textured surface that presented a black face to the driver but white to the angle of sunlight entering the vehicle.

Alos, a white dash wouldn't be so bad if it were a smooth suede or leather or some fabric / carpet.

My new truck is white with a grey dash and our other car is also white but with a black dash. I will have to look closer and see if they are comparable enough to do some temperature recording.

Drew K

I would like to know, if any studies/research have been done regarding this problem and any solutions offered?

Yes. The automotive industry has known about this issue for many decades and as such the car components in the interior, under the hood, etc are designed to handle the expected increased heat. This is nothing new.

In addition, modern consumer electronics manufacturers also know this and when it is reasonably likely that their product is going to spend significant time in a vehicle the products are designed to handle the same increased heat (car accessories, cell phones, car radios, GPS modules, etc).

Have you tried an internet search?

Then the dealers make all that research redundant...

Ford spent a crapton of peso's on developing a durable matte finish plastic material for the E series Falcon dash tops to stop sunlight reflecting back onto the windscreen.

When the cars got to the dealerships, the detailers would smother the dash in armourall to make it shine real nice.......

Yes, the dealers could destroy years of effort in seconds.

We had to use specific paints and moulded textures to match other parts in the "new" vehicles. Some of these finishes would change appearance when touched by ungloved hands, so the effect didn't last long in the field, but that was one way that Ford was able to keep so many stylists employed.

In our test lab, we even had multiple recipes for "synthetic sweat" to be used on painted parts. Some of the exotic testing scenarios were so improbable. A centre console Power window switch having to operate while at 95degC for instance and 100% RH. Such conditions would literally cook anyone. Or the same switch having to operate while at minus 40.

We had one test that was actually completed 10 years AFTER the final production of the vehicle.

Yes, 85C.

I remember having polthene bag samples which I had placed onto the rear window shelf of a Fiat 125, green body and roof for moderate heat absorbtion.

This was no trial, but the bags had welded themselves together and to the shelf.

Location Zambia Congo Border. Date circa 1972. Temp. not recorded.

Unofficially I've seen vehicle interior temperatures over 100DegC, but not recorded with the scientific methods that I would be prepared to support. (Under glass on dashboard, North facing in central Queensland, daytime ambient was around 48.

The electronics in some cars was also playing up. We were sitting back having a few beers, watching three cars automatically locking and unlocking the doors due to the ambient heat.

I've also seen parts of some "home modified" audio systems end up in fantastic shapes due to heat deformation.

park under trees