There are some instances where you need to keep something cool inside your car whenever you are out to run some errands.
That means that you need to find the coolest part of the car so that you can keep certain things such as groceries or a laptop without exposing them to too much heat.
And the first place you might think of is the trunk.
So, is the trunk the coolest part of the car?
Trunk the coolest part of the car?
The trunk is not the coolest part of the car. In fact, some parts of the cabin are actually cooler than the trunk despite the fact that the trunk is not exposed to direct sunlight. However, it also depends on a lot of things, such as the season, the color of the cabin, and other similar factors that affect temperature.
In most cases, the first place you would often think of when it comes to keeping something cool in the car is the trunk because, after all, it isn’t exposed to direct sunlight, and it stays dark in there.
However, you need to understand that certain factors tend to play a role in affecting the temperature in the trunk and the cabin.
That is why the trunk isn’t always the coolest part of the car.
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Is the trunk the coolest part of the car?
When you go out for errands, there are some instances where you need to keep things cool in the car, either while you are driving or while you are out of the vehicle, to run some more errands.
For instance, when you buy groceries, you want to make sure that the meat and the ice cream you bought stay cool while they are in the car. That’s why you need to pick the right spot in the car when it comes to keeping certain things cool.
In most cases, the first place people would think of when it comes to keeping things cool is the trunk. After all, the trunk is not exposed to direct sunlight and always stays dark and away from anything that may cause it to go warm.
However, is it really true that the trunk is the coolest part of the car?
There are cases where the trunk can be the coolest part of the car because, after all, it isn’t exposed to direct or indirect sunlight in any way possible. However, what you should know is that the trunk isn’t always the coolest part of the car because there are some other factors that you still need to consider when it comes to the temperature of the trunk.
During a particularly hot summer day, there is a good chance that the trunk is the coolest part of the car because of how it is protected from direct or indirect sunlight.
On the other hand, even if the windows in the passenger compartment or the backseat are open, there is still a good chance that they are warmer than the trunk because of how they are exposed to sunlight.
Meanwhile, another factor that may play a role in the temperature of the car’s trunk is the color of the car itself. You would know in your grade school science that darker colors tend to hold on to heat a lot more than lighter colors.
In that case, if you have a darker car, such as black, there is a good chance that the trunk will be warmer than the rest of the car because the heat coming from the exterior of the car may make it all the way to the interior of the trunk.
And the worst part here is that there is no way for the hot air to escape the trunk in such an instance.
However, whenever the day isn’t too warm or whenever it’s the colder seasons of fall and winter, there is a good chance that the trunk is the coldest part of the car because there is nothing that would keep it warm.
This is why there are plenty of things you need to look at when it comes to determining which part of the car is the coolest.
You shouldn’t always go for the truck, especially when there are factors that may cause it to go warmer than the backseat floor of your car.
How do I keep my trunk cool?
While the trunk isn’t always the coolest part of the car, there are probably instances where you can’t help but put your groceries or your electronics in the trunk, especially when the cabin is already full of people.
That means that your only choice here is to keep them in the trunk regardless of whether or not the trunk is the coolest part of the car.
So, if you have no choice, how do you keep your trunk cool?
One of the ways you can keep the trunk cool is to air it out in your garage. This will allow the trapped hot air in the trunk to exit so that the trunk will stay cool. But be warned that you shouldn’t leave your trunk open unattended because of the security risks involved.
But one of the best ways to keep the trunk cool is to use a trunk insulator. There are trunk insulators that are sold specifically for certain car models, but there are also some insulators that can fit most trunks.
The insulator will prevent the heat coming from the car’s exterior from warming the air inside the trunk, especially when you are driving on a particularly hot day.
What is the coldest part of the car?
Even though there are some instances where the trunk can be the coolest part of the car, on average, it isn’t the coolest.
That’s because, according to the Wall Street Journal, the coldest part of the car is the floor of the passenger compartment. This is mostly true whenever the air-conditioner is on. Some cars also have the glove box fitted with a mechanism to switch on the cool air, when you want to keep your drink cold.
Another reason why the floor can be the coldest part of the car is that the car’s cabin tends to have better insulation compared to the trunk (if you don’t have a trunk insulator).
That’s because car companies prioritize insulating the cabin to make sure that the passengers stay comfortable.
This means that the cabin floor is less likely to suffer from extreme temperature swings compared to the trunk.
Sources
Keeping a notebook computer cool in trunk in >100F weather
What is the coolest area of a car to leave a package when parked?
