Even the most mild of summers bring high temperatures nowadays. Your first inclination might be to remote start your car or run your vehicle for minutes to cool your cabin. Unfortunately, doing so will expend energy and cause harmful tailpipe emissions in ICE vehicles. However, you can do a few things to cool your hot car without harming the environment or draining your battery. 

You can employ these five tools and behaviors to keep your hot car cool in high temperatures without needlessly idling or draining your EV battery

You might live in Austin, Phoenix, Las Vegas, or Atlanta where parking your car in 100+ degree heat is commonplace. Conversely, you might live in Sacramento, Virginia Beach, or Nashville, where you might get few consecutive triple-digit days. 

Still, parking outside and in direct sunlight might result in a cabin temperature well above the 100-degree mark. That said, you can use a combination of the following to keep your hot car cool in spicy summer and autumn months. 

• Use a foldable sunshade
• If possible, park in a structure or a garage
• If you park in the same spot regularly, determine where to park to avoid the sun
• Consider using window tint to block sunlight
• Ensure your air conditioning is in good working order

It might seem antiquated at this point, but a folding sunshade can make a measurable difference. According to Novus Glass, a sunshade may lower your vehicle’s interior temperature by as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit. While that might seem like a lot, a shade can block much of the direct light from the sun as it comes through the largest pane of glass in your vehicle.

Where you park your car can make a tremendous difference in how hot your car gets. If possible, opt for a garage, parking structure, or covered carport. Moreover, if you park in the same lot every day, determine where your car will spend the most time in the sun. Remember, the sun rises to the East and sets to the West; use that to avoid being battered by the path of the sun. 

Depending on your state of residence, you may have significant leeway over the allowable level of window tint. For instance, in California, you may be allowed to tint as much as 70% of your front side windows, per Rayno Film. That will cut down on the heat delivered by sunlight.

Finally, make sure your air conditioning is in working order. Remote starting your hot ICE car to make it comfortable causes harmful tailpipe emissions. Instead, using a sunshade in a car with working AC can make it comfortable quickly.