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In this scorching summer season, as soon as you sit inside the car, the first thing your hand goes to is the AC button. But do you know how directly this luxury of keeping the cabin cool impacts your pocket? Actually, the air conditioner of the car is directly connected to the engine of the vehicle. Its compressor runs entirely on the mechanical power of the engine. This is why as soon as you turn on the AC, there is additional mechanical load on the engine and it has to work harder. To cope with this extra pressure, the engine burns more fuel, which quickly increases fuel consumption—especially if you’re driving in bumper-to-bumper city traffic.
What is the additional fuel consumption under normal circumstances?
According to practical data and research of the automobile industry, under normal weather and balanced driving conditions, the car’s AC can operate at approx. 0.2 to 0.4 liters of extra fuel per hour Spends. However, this is not a fixed parameter as it completely depends on the engine capacity of your vehicle, the extreme heat outside and the temperature settings of the AC. If the sun is blazing outside, the compressor has to continuously run at full capacity to cool the cabin, which can further increase the fuel consumption.
Small car vs SUV: the big math of cabin size
The size of your vehicle directly determines how many rims of fuel the AC will suck:
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Small hatchback cars: Their cabin area is small, so the compressor has to use less energy to cool them. These cars usually consume about 0.2 liters of extra fuel per hour when running AC.
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Big and heavy SUVs: Due to larger cabin space and heavy capacity compressor, SUVs consume less fuel when AC is on. 0.8 liters per hour Can be easily reached.
Direct hit on long journeys and mileage
If you use AC continuously during daily commute or long drives, its effect is clearly visible on the overall mileage of the car.
Experts’ assessment: Keeping AC on continuously during long journey reduces total fuel consumption. Increase of 8 to 10 percent Might be possible. Let’s understand this with a simple example—if your car gives a great mileage of 20 kmpl on the highway without AC, the same figure will come down to around 18 kmpl with AC on.
Running AC in a parked car: The worst deal
Many drivers have this habit of keeping the engine on while waiting for someone or parking the car in the parking lot and enjoy the AC comfortably. From the fuel saving point of view, this is considered the most serious and biggest mistake. When the car is stationary at one place, the engine is continuously burning fuel without covering any distance. In such a situation, you have to suffer huge loss of fuel per minute and the mileage you get in return is completely Zero It happens.
The biggest myth of the highway: Opening windows is not always beneficial
Generally people think that while traveling at high speed on the highway, turning off the AC and opening the windows will save petrol or diesel. But according to the laws of Aerodynamics, this is not completely true.
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Drag: when the car 80 km per hour or more, then the air enters inside the car through the open windows and creates a strong resistance (opposite pressure).
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Double load on engine: To overcome the strong pressure of this air and move ahead, the engine has to apply more power than usual. In such a situation, driving with the windows closed and the AC running proves to be more economical and fuel-saving than driving with the windows open at high speed.
Correct and timely servicing will save hard earned money.
If you do not get regular maintenance done on your car’s AC system, there is increased friction and pressure on the compressor parts, causing it to draw more fuel. Auto experts strongly advise:
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car from time to time cabin air filter Be sure to get it changed or kept clean so that the air flow remains correct.
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of AC Refrigerant gas (cooling gas) Get your blood pressure checked regularly.
A well-maintained cooling system not only cools the cabin down within minutes, but also maintains your car’s mileage by putting minimal load on the engine.