Is it bad to use the A/C and have the thermostat on full heat at the same time in my car?

Question

Basically, is the A/C for cooling only? Will A/C and heat cancel out each others' effects? I drive a 2000 Camry, if it makes any difference.

Answer 1

A/C stands for air CONDITIONING. This means that it "conditions" the air inside the passenger compartment to bring it to a comfortable level for the passengers. It doesn't necessarily mean it cools the inside of the vehicle, but also removes humidity. When most vehicles are swtiched to the HEAT or DEFROST settings, the A/C compressor operates to remove moisture from the air being blown out the vent registers, so that it doesn't fog up the windows inside the vehicle, just the same as it would when it is set to MAX A/C (or A/C and recirculate in your particular vehicle), or NORM A/C (or A/C without recirculate in your particular vehicle). With all that being said, NO it would NOT be bad to set the temperature control to full heat with the A/C turned on. And no, A/C is not necessarily for cooling the passenger compartment only. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Your car already does exactly that when the defrost function is selected.

The A/C is running to dehydrate the air,,,
and the heater is running to warm the windshield

AC and Heater are mounted in a Box.
They're separated by a "Door" called a BLEND FLAP.

That Flap blends the amount of hot/cold air with mixes in the Plenum Box and flows out of the vents.

Most cars have a system to turn heater OFF,,,unless it's physically switched On.
That helps AC to work better if it's on.

Some cars heater runs full time,,,it's heat output is Blocked by the Blend flap.
Most Automatic Climate control is set up this way.
The auto-control adjusts the blend flap.

If AC gets too cold according to whatever Temp the Driver has selected,,,
It will bleed in a bit of Warm Air.

On COLD,HUMID days,,when car is fogging up all the windows as you drive....
*Turn ON AC to dehydrate the air
*Move Temp Selector to HOT

That Dehydrates the cabin,,Warms the Air,,,and air blows out of the regular vents.

It's the exact same mode as Defrost,
except for which set of vents the air comes thru.
Defrost is windshield only...
AC ON with Temp set to HOT comes thru dash vents

So,,,NO,,,,AC is NOT for Cooling Only.
It's part of Climate Control SYSTEM,,,it works in conjuction with the Heater,,,in some settings/modes

And,,,YES,,,
AC and Heat DO "cancel" each other's effect.
That action is what regulates the actual temperature.
Particularly on Auto-Temp Control systems.

..................
When system is set to strictly HEAT on a Standard AC/Heat system....NON Auto-Climate control sytems,,,
Then ONLY the Heater is working and AC is switched Off.

The "COOL" air to balance the Heater's output temp comes from outside the car,,,
OR from bypassing the Heater with a portion of recirculated cabin air.

A Setting that sez "Fresh Air" or just "AIR",,is from Outside of Car.
Setting that sez "NORMAL AC" is running Fresh Outside Air INTO the Car,,through the AC cooler.

"MAX AC" is Closed to Outside air,,,and Recirculating cabin air.

Most Heaters run on Recirculated Cabin Air.
As you select Cooler HEATER settings,,,it begins to blend Ouside air with the heated air

Answer 3

yes ,the only time (this is for emergency usage and not for the life of the car) the only time that you should need to place the a/c and on full heat is when your car is showing its overheating ,it will run but how long,that is up to the car and its parts .

Answer 4

if your windows fog up in cold or wet weather running the ac at the same time as the heater will clear the fog, but otherwise it defeats the purpose, heater for hot air ac for cold air..

Answer 5

nice try, but you can't run the a/c and heater at the same time. that's if the system is working correctly.

Answer 6

Why would you even want to?