Eli5: why does warm 67 degrees feel different than cool 67 degrees

Question

I’m in my car and I set the AC to 67 it feels different than if I set my heat to 67. Shouldn’t 67 degrees be 67 degrees

In: 2

Answer 1

So there’s couple reasons it feels different.

First off, when you have AC going it’s blowing air that’s much *colder* than your target temperature (assuming it’s working) and a heater is going be blowing air that’s *hotter* than your target temperature. So that means it feels different because it *is* a different temperature.

Secondly, your body tends to adapt so going from hot to cold will feel extra cold and going from cold to hot will feel extra hot.

There are also potential differences in humidity that change how it feels, but that’s not always the case so I’m hesitant to say that’s a reason.