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Why does automobile air-conditioning waste gasoline?

To me it makes sense that the use of air conditioning to keep cool in an automobile would waste water and Freon. How does gasoline interact with auto air conditioning?

6 Answers

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  • 2 decades ago
    Favorite Answer

    The engine must power the air conditioner by turning its compressor. When the air conditioner is running, the compressor is hard to turn and that causes the engine to use extra fuel. When the air conditioner is not running, the compressor is easy to turn and uses almost no fuel. Also, for speeds less than 45 mph, driving with the windows down uses less gas than driving with the air conditioner on. But for speeds over 45 mph, the drag caused by the air blowing through the windows wastes more gas than having the air conditioner on.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    5 years ago

    The A/C does not waste water or freon. The a/c has no longer something to do with water. The a/c is a closed equipment that cycles freon. even however, with the intention to eliminate extra warmth, the refrigerant must be compressed with a compressor. This takes capacity to realize this, and that capacity comes from the engine. so which you could commute the comparable velocity once you do not have the a/c engaged, takes extra capacity or extra gas. And it does not make the engine much less powerful. The engine performance has no longer something to do what it operates. It basically potential you're making use of much less of the engine's capacity to head the vehicle. It has no longer something to do with the batter, like some persons are asserting. The compressor is generated by making use of mechanical capacity from the engine, no longer electricity. And the only reason those learn instruct you utilize much less gas than basically having the domicile windows down, is with the aid of fact those assessments have been executed at intense speeds. The aerodynamics of the vehicle are worse with the domicile windows down. as a result, the shortcoming of capacity with the aid of a/c is way less then the shortcoming of capacity with the aid of fact of intense drag, yet in user-friendly terms at intense expenditures of velocity. At low speeds, the aerodynamics have little consequence on motor vehicle drag, and the a/c would be extra dominant.

  • 2 decades ago

    The only thing you waste is gasoline. The more RPM the engine turns the harder the compressor will work, thus, increases your cooling capacity. Basically, the harder the compressor works, the more gasoline you use due to the increase in power.

    Source(s): HVAC Instructor
  • Freon doesn't get used. Freon circulates through the system to cool it, but it takes engine power to compress & decompress the freon so it cools. In order to produce engine power, it takes gas & water.

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  • 2 decades ago

    The 2 answers you received are correct except that "freon" is a brand. The chemical substance that the a/c unit works on is "refrigerant" no matter what brand name, Freon, National. etc...

  • 7 years ago

    confusing stuff. query from google and yahoo. that will may help!

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