chad1140 Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Quick question, are the seats just ventilated or do they actually turn on the air conditioning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbodave Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 It's all a matter of symantics I suppose. There is a small fan under each seat with its own filter. Right below and just in front of that filter/fan assembly, on the floor under the seat is a vent that discharges A/.C cooled air. The fan picks this up and blows it up through the seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Okay, so lets say it is -3 degrees out, like it is today. I have the car set at 72 degrees, my wife has her passenger heated seat on, but I just worked out and am a bit hot. I turn my cooled driver's seat on, what happens? We know the A/C compressor won't go on...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpd1151 Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 They are merely ventilated. Activating the "cooling" function on the seats DOES NOT turn on the entire system's A/C. tss 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tss Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 ^^Thank you! Now we know..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO Rod Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Turning on the cooled seats does not turn on the car's A/C compressor, but there's more than just a fan that circulates air. The cooled seats will produce a cooling effect even if you have the HVAC system turned off. There is a Thermal Electric Device (TED) that provides both the heating and cooling functions. It's a Peltier Device for those that want to search the Internet. The TED is limited to a certain temperature differential from the inlet air, so if it's 90 degrees in your car and you turn on the seat A/C it's only going to be able to cool the seats to that differential limitation, maybe something like 20 or 30 degrees. Similar for the heating function. -Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjhpadi Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I know that in warmer weather if I turn the cooling on the seats I can feel the cooling coming through the seats, since I am normally wearing shorts in the summer and it does feel like cool air, not just circulated air. As for the heated seats I know it seems to take longer to feel the effect of the heat, but I've always thought it was because of being in long pants it just takes a bit longer to actually "feel" the heating of the seat. But if I am cold (normally from diving in cold water) in the summer if I turn the heat on my seat and I'm in shorts, the seat does seem to heat faster. Again, that's what led to my theory that feeling the effects of heat/cool does have something to do with the level of clothing that you are wearing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markssho Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 SHO Rod's right....however, when comparing "apples to apples", many manufacturers only include a ventilation effect, which is only a fan that picks up residual air from the AC, if it is on. The higher end makes include this thermal electric device. So, next time you see that ad for the cheap car with ventilated seats, it's not exactly the same setup. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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