Why does air conditioning in a car make the car use up fuel more quickly?
Answers:
I just answered the same question yesterday, or atleast very similar. The question was what uses more gas, A/C or Heater.
Here is a copy-paste.
The air conditioner wastes more gasoline, hands down.
Turning the heater on uses heat energy all ready stored in your cars coolant system to warm the air in the cabin. This is why your heater does not work until the car has been running for a few minutes. This energy is all ready in the car if you use or or not.
The A/C on the other hand activates a compressor which requires more electricity from your cars alternator to run. The energy to power the compressor has to be converted by the alternator, making your motor work harder. Some cars also have an additional fan that turns on with the A/C to help keep the alternator cool as it too works harder. This fan also draws power though, creating an even greater load for your motor.
If you wanted to test this, let your car run for a minute or two until its at its normal idle RPM. When you click the A/C on you will most likely see the RPMs on the tach increase. This is your motor compensating for the additional work it is doing by increasing the rate at which it works (RPM).
Sorry for sounding like a science teacher, hope this helps and lets you shut your friend up =)
PS: Using the A/C will cause you to burn more fuel if your on the freeway or in the city, either way.
PSS: Often times, rolling your windows down will cause you to burn even more gas than using the A/C, at least while at freeway-speeds of 60+. This is because you are creating much more aerodynamic drag with the windows down. It depends a lot on the vehicle your in, but more often than not this is true.
it doesnt if your at a constant speed (freeway) if your intown it does becuz your in stop and go traffic and the motor is running harder if the AC is on
Running the compressor adds more load to the engine requiring it to work harder.
Anytime the compressor is energized, it adds load no matter the condition.
other than putting a little more strain on the main drive system (the belt that drives the alternator, water pump, etc) it really doesnt.
yes it does. Its more efficient to just open up your windows
Because the engine has to work harder to run the AC (even at a constant highway speed)
Because it takes more energy to run the AC compressor and the source of energy in a car is fuel.
Because it takes more energy to run the AC and energy comes from the energy source, the fuel.
It's like if you were to flap your arms, it's going to take more energy than just standing there and would make you feel tired faster.
The air conditioning compressor is driven by the engine. This uses power and hence more fuel.
It doesn't. Over a longer distance it usee less fuel than it would if the windows were down.
Your engine has to drive the A/C compressor, drawing several horsepower from the engine. More load on the engine means power fuel to produce that power.
Therres a coppressor in the car that draws more on the engine requiring the engine to work harder which in turn uses more gas. You also lose some horsepower when using the AC also.
When you turn the air conditioner on, it engages the clutch on the front of the pump unit which is driven by a belt from the motor thus creates drag on the motor using more fuel. The harder the engine has to work, the more fuel it uses. Running the air conditioner usually cuts gas milage by 1 or 2 MPG.
I have tried it both ways and it doesn't make a noticeable difference..my theory.if its hot outside I am going to stay cool inside.
Foe every car I know of, when the AC is not running, the compressor wheel is turning freely, so the belt turns more easily. When the AC comprtessor is engaged, it causes tension on the wheel, making the belt harder to turn, so the engine works harder and therefore uses more gas to operate at equal RPM's. One thing you might notice if you have a tachometer is your RPM's decrease when you turn your AC on and then increase if you turn your AC off.
The ONLY thing you can use on a car that doesn't affect the fuel consumption is the radio(not cassette or CD), it all puts extra strain on the engine, opening the windows is not efficent either as this affects the aerodynamics of the car.
If the car is properly tuned up, then it shoudl not use anymore fuel than it would if you ran the car with the windows down. The compressor adds more load to the engine thus making it work harder to keep turning when the compressor is on.
SO SIMPLE mate, its because when you turn on the conditioning system more energy is used. so some of the power which makes the spark plugs burn the fuel at a higher level is reduced.that's when you see the car giving to much smoke as fuel is wasted- because of not being burn at a higher level to give high performances which boost your acceleration & speeds.
When the air compressor kicks on, there is a bigger load put on the engine. That can increase fuel consumption just like if you were driving up hill.
In modern aerodynamic cars, you can use more fuel with the windows open, so it is likely that the trade off makes little difference.
Open the windows or run the air..the result will be very close to the same.
Because if it didn't you'd have a perpetual motion machine. That isn't possible..in case you thought it was. Doh!
The engine has to work harder to turn the A/C compressor which can take up to 10HP off the engine, therefore it uses more fuel.
Think of it as driving with a brake on.
The compressor draws HP from the motor, which in turn makes HP from gas.
The suggestion is that it increases fuel consumption by one or two MPG because energy is needed to drive the refrigeration compressor.
RoyS
Because when you engage the A/C it brings into play a pump
which puts extra load on the engine. More load more petrol
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