Unveiling the mystery of dashboard spheres: the role of solar sensors in cars
Many elements in cars might seem unnecessary at first glance. One example is a spherical piece of plastic on the dashboard. Some might wonder what its purpose is.
Year by year, cars are becoming more complex. Car manufacturers compete with each other by introducing newer technologies and conveniences. Driving assistance systems, rare just a few years ago, are now standard even in small city cars. As a result, some components may raise questions that we cannot always answer. One of them might be the question: "What is this actually for?"
Some drivers might ask this question, pondering the function of the protruding, often spherical, plastic placed at the top of the dashboard, right by the windshield. This element is found in cars equipped with automatic air conditioning. If the air conditioning is dual-zone, there may be more than one of these plastics. These are solar sensors.
What are these sensors, and what function do they serve? These sensors analyze the level of heating in the car through the sun's rays. Based on these data, they select the appropriate mode of operation for the automatic air conditioning. For example, if on a sunny day we get into the heated interior of the car and set the air conditioning to 20 degrees Celsius, the air conditioning will aim to cool the cabin as quickly and efficiently as possible.
If, however, we set the same temperature on a cloudy day, the onboard computer will know that the interior of the car does not heat up as quickly, so the cooling process will proceed differently. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to make sure nothing is covering the mentioned sensor, as it may affect the proper functioning of the air conditioning.
