Air conditioning is now standard equipment in most cars, allowing you to achieve an optimal temperature inside the vehicle and to travel in comfortable conditions. In addition, it prevents the annoying fogging of windows, which, by reducing visibility, can pose a potential danger. We have grown accustomed to the comfort that cooling gives us, but are we aware of how much fuel air conditioning consumes? How much does all of this cost us? In today’s post we will present the impact of air conditioning on a car’s fuel consumption and show how you can save effectively.
Does air conditioning use fuel?
Let’s start with the basic issue - does the air conditioning in a car use fuel? Not directly, but it does of course contribute to an increase in its usage. Why?
It is all due to the need to drive the main component of the air conditioning, namely the compressor, by the engine via a V-belt. Because the V-belt has to overcome a certain resistance while operating, it must also be powered by fuel, and so its consumption increases while the air conditioning is running.
How does air conditioning affect fuel consumption?
It therefore seems reasonable to ask “by how much does air conditioning increase fuel consumption”? There is no single specific answer, because a great many factors influence this - among others the type of powertrain and the size of the car. It also depends on the type of air conditioning, because the operation of individual systems differs from one another.
Fuel consumption may also be higher if the vehicle is in poor technical condition, and when very high temperatures occur outside. The efficiency of the air conditioning itself also has an enormous impact - the better its condition, the lower the fuel consumption will be.
On average it can be assumed that when driving a car with the air conditioning on at an example speed of 100 km/h - an additional 0.25 l of fuel will disappear from the tank for every 100 km driven. Of course, as we mentioned above, depending on other factors the consumption may rise to between 0.5 litres and 1 litre per 100 kilometres.
Air conditioning and fuel consumption - you can influence the savings
By using it appropriately, you can have an influence on how much fuel the air conditioning in your car burns. Above all, properly ventilating the car before every drive will help. If we have such an option, we are able to reduce the accumulated warm air, thanks to which the air conditioning will not have to use as much power at the start in order to cool down the interior of the car.
In the first phase it is recommended to switch on the internal air recirculation - thanks to this the air conditioning does not have to cool the air flowing in from outside. Of course, you must also remember that while driving we must have all the windows closed and the sunroof blind drawn.
Air conditioning and fuel consumption - remember regular servicing
If we want your air conditioning to work efficiently, you must remember to have it serviced regularly. Over time the refrigerant can escape, because the system may develop a leak.
If we neglect cleaning the car’s air conditioning, we will feel less driving comfort, and over time it may begin to adversely affect the state of our health. Broken and clogged filters, instead of purifying our air, will additionally make it smell bad, which, combined with the accumulated deposits and fungi resulting from the lack of cleaning, can be dangerous for us.
It is recommended to carry out an inspection at least once a year, alongside the annual car service. For this purpose it is worth visiting a specialised mechanic who deals with cooling systems and finding out whether everything is working correctly. This will translate not only into driving comfort, but will also affect how much fuel the air conditioning in the car consumes.
An annual service is an expense of around 200 zł, whereas replacing a damaged compressor can cost much, much more - so it is not worth neglecting periodic service checks of the car’s air conditioning.
How much electricity does a car’s air conditioning use?
The air conditioning draws its energy mainly from the engine, and additionally places an extra load on the battery
How much power does a car’s air conditioning use? The ventilation system in a car delivers heat to the passengers, using 170 W at a medium setting level, whereas the air conditioning draws 500 W of energy from the battery.
It is worth remembering to keep the cooling systems in good condition and to clean them regularly, because this will have a major impact on how much fuel the air conditioning takes, and consequently an impact on the wealth of our wallet.
