Do MBP fans work only performance induced?

[phl92]

I know that Macbook Airs are machines, totally without cooling system. Its mostly not an issue, since most people on Airs won't do heavy loads of work but at the moment with the heat wave my Air gets hot quite a lot with simple tasks.
So my question is: do MBP turn on fans when the environmental heat is high? Or working in sun?

 

[iMacDragon]

I don't think environmen directly factors in at all, only indirectly, in that internals will get hotter faster so more likely to trigger.

 

[chrfr]

I know that Macbook Airs are machines, totally without cooling system. Its mostly not an issue, since most people on Airs won't do heavy loads of work but at the moment with the heat wave my Air gets hot quite a lot with simple tasks.
So my question is: do MBP turn on fans when the environmental heat is high? Or working in sun?

The fans activate based on thermal load but the computer has no idea what's causing that thermal load. If the internal sensors detect higher temperatures, the fans will adjust their speed accordingly. Certainly, higher ambient temps will lead to a hotter computer.

 

[phl92]

The fans activate based on thermal load but the computer has no idea what's causing that thermal load. If the internal sensors detect higher temperatures, the fans will adjust their speed accordingly. Certainly, higher ambient temps will lead to a hotter computer.

Good to know. I really like to work outside and even inside (yeah I am European and air condition is still not a standard in my country) the Air gets hot in summer, quite hot. On Coconut Battery app the battery got 43 degrees and I guess the battery is far from the hotspot just above the keyboard.
So a upgrade might be worth it