It didn’t take long for some of us to discover that what works with a cold car also works with a hot car. Sticky seats, a steering wheel hot as a frying pan and a cooling system that blows scorching air is at least as unpleasant as a freezing-cold vehicle. As it turns out, remote starters are not just for northerners in winter any more.

Over the last decade or so the kinks of remote start technology have been worked out and additional features have been added to make the functionality even more useful. Following is a breakdown of the four general types of remote start devices available on the market.