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No more sneezing: ŠKODA develops technology to combat in-car hay fever suffering

ŠKODA has revealed the latest technology in its new Scala that could spell the end of hay fever symptoms in cars and delight the 13 million people in the UK who are plagued by the condition every summer*.

With hay fever season in full swing and pollen counts expected to reach ‘very high’ levels this week, drivers are being advised to avoid drowsiness inducing medication, keep windows closed and put the air conditioning on recycle air mode.

However, Scala’s state-of-the-art dual zone Climatronic air-conditioning means drivers and passengers no longer need to take their own precautions as the technology defaults to an energy-saving recirculation mode and stops the pollen entering the inside of the car helping to reduce symptoms of sneezing, coughing and itchy eyes.

Unlike normal air-conditioning systems, the Scala uses a special cabin filter and air quality sensor to filter out the pollen. Once sneeze-inducing air particles are sensed, the system will automatically shut off the outside air inlet to stop the air particles from entering the car.

The sophisticated Climatronic system also acts to provide quick relief in sweltering temperatures. ŠKODA has employed aerodynamics expertise to monitor the direction and velocity of the airflow inside the car to ensure that cool air is delivered quickly and efficiently to the driver and passengers.

In addition, the air-conditioning system uses multiple sensors to monitor both inside and outside temperature and humidity. The Scala features an extra sunlight sensor that can detect not only the intensity, but also the direction of the sun’s rays. It can then adjust the air temperature for the left or right side of the car, for far more efficient cooling.

Thousands of hours have been spent developing and testing in-car conditions through every traffic scenario. During testing, fluorescent lamps were used to simulate a burning sun at 1,000 W per m2, which is an equivalent heat intensity to the Arizona desert.