We see so many badly fitting Car SunShades I would say in Switzerland, 9 out of 10 just don't fit. Yes, they are cheap, but what's the point if they don't cool your car down.
So here we outline why it's important to purchase high-quality custom-made sunshades for all seasons and what to look out for to get that maximum benefit.
The hot summer sun can turn your vehicle into an oven in minutes. Interior temperatures can quickly reach levels that are not only dangerous but damaging to your vehicle’s interior surfaces. Thankfully, there are plenty of simple and easy things you can do to help keep your car cool in the summer! Keep reading below for some helpful tips and tricks to keep your car cool during these hot summer days.
Park in a Shady Place
This one is very obvious, but it’s amazing how many times I see car’s parked right in the middle of a car park.
- So if you can’t find shade, then try to figure out where the Sun’s track is going and if you can identify a spot that will be shaded during the hotter hours of 13h00 to 17h00.
- Alternatively, always park your car with the front windshield pointing away from the sun. The dashboards on most vehicles have a large surface area and are black. This absorbs much heat into the car, which then starts to act like an oven.
Use a (dual-Sided) Car SunShade
Now this may be obvious, but with my travels around Switzerland, I don’t see much investment in a well-fitted, dual-purpose SunShade in many cars I see. So,
- The best SunShades have to be “custom-made” for your vehicle. Don't buy cheap generic SunShades; they just don’t work and end up annoying you even more. I’m biased, but the WeatherTech SunShades just perform so well. That’s why we have brought them to Switzerland.
- Also, try to find a dual-purpose SunShades, one with Silver and Black sides. You get more value for your investment in being able to block out the UV rays during the Summer, but also reverse them for the freezing cold and icy Winters. The black absorbs the UV and radiates this back to the layer inside the window, preventing excessive frosting of the windows. So if you are up in the mountains, you can use them to remove that annoying “defrosting” of the windows in the morning routine.
- Remember, on average (WeatherTech research) indicated that there is a 35% decrease in dashboard temperatures after 45 minutes when using a sunshade in your front windshield.
- Finally, you can purchase complete “All-round car SunShades”, well from WeatherTech Switzerland you can. These protect your vehicle even more, as every window can be covered, so from the rising Sun of the East to the dusk of the West, these will keep your vehicle even cooler.
Open your Windows a little
It may sound a little strange, but open your windows by 2 cm. This will allow air to circulate around the top of the car (where the temperature is hottest) and the natural flow of air will reduce the temperature in your car as well, but don’t open them too far.
Cover Surfaces
If you don’t have the WeatherTech “All-round car SunShades” then cover exposed seating, dashboards, and steering wheels with some light-reflective materials. This will help to reduce the temperature in the car. Weathertech offers seat protectors to help prevent the rapid ageing of expensive leather seating through the effects of excessive sun.
Your Safety
A SunShade is a proactive preventative way of reducing the heat inside your car, so invest in ones that are the best-fitting, are reliable, easy to fit, and can cover your entire car. This is important for you, your family, and pets. Dogs in particular (as they are your best friend) are vulnerable to the effects of excessive heat, and every year, there are unfortunate heat-related deaths, when pets are left in vehicles without enough protection. Websites like “Dog Friendly Swiss” have some great “tips and advice” on what to avoid. But, a sunshade could be your best option.
The environment
When there’s an alternative to not using excessive air conditioning to cool your car down, then it’s environmentally much friendlier to use a SunShades. A SunShade proactively reflects the effects and outcomes of UV away from your car. This removes the need to use air conditioning to cool your car down, which uses much unnecessary batter and/or fuel.
Also, with the increasing numbers of all EV vehicles in Switzerland in 2023 to 12% and hybrids to 40%, automated technologies now allow you to pre-cool or keep your vehicle at set temperatures. If you are doing this to keep your car cool, you are wasting a lot of battery power, when there is an environmentally friendly alternative.
Remember moving forward, our weather in Switzerland is likely to be getting hotter for longer with more extreme weather over the next few years. So find a WeatherTech front or all-round dual-purpose window shades and prevent those risks to you, your family and pets.
WeatherTech SunShades; made in America 🇺🇸. Made for Switzerland 🇨🇭.
Check out these websites for more information:
https://www.dogfriendlyswiss.ch/
https://journalistsresource.org/health/child-dead-left-hot-car-research/
https://www.makeuseof.com/awesome-tesla-climate-control-features/
Porsche 911.991 4S model sunshade overview