Does turning off the A/C in a car save gas?

Answer 1

Yes

Answer 2

Yes, but not much. If your car gets 25 miles to each gallon, and you turn on your A/C, you will then get about 23 miles to each gallon. I recomend that you do use your A/C instead of rolling down the windows because when your car windows are down and you are driving over 40 mph, you will actually be losing more gas bacause the with the windows down you are creating drag and that slows your car down, which means you have to use more gas to go faster. So use you A/C cause it will save you gas in the long run and it will be a quiter ride. Enjoi

Answer 3

Well, the answer is a responding maybe. Of course turning off the air conditioner will take a minor strain off the engine, and then gas mileage will increase. BUT, if it's so hot that you have to roll down the windows to stay cool, the resulting air drag on the vehicle will be enough to bring the mileage down to below what it would be if you roll the windows back up and turn on the A/C!

Added: Brain, I've been repairing cars for years, and I never knew the A/C was connected to the power steering. (It isn't of course). The A/C has a belt driven compressor.

Answer 4

I always assumed that it did, so I typically drove with windows down and AC off. I carefully measured my mileage on a 120 mile trip and found that I got 28 mpg in my Jeep Liberty travelling at 57 mph with windows up and no AC. Two weeks later, I tried the same exact trip on the same road with the same car at the same speed but with windows down and got 24 mpg. Then I tried the same trip with AC on and windows up and got 24 mpg again. So yes, the AC uses gas, but no more than driving with the windows open. To get the best gas mileage, you need to drive with no AC and windows closed tight. So, just drive when it's cool. But if you have to drive when it's hot, you might as well use the AC because, at least on the highway, you won't save any more gas by keeping the AC off and opening the windows.

Answer 5

Depends. Generally speaking, at speeds below 50 mph, opening the windows is more efficient, but above that, roll them up and turn on the A/C to save gas.

Answer 6

It depends. Yes, turning off the AC does mean less demand on the engine to turn the compressor, which means less gas used.
But if you then roll your windows down to circulate air the additional drag created will make your engine have to work harder to maintain the same speed... meaning more gas used.
Not nearly as much used as the AC though. See? Isn't gas conservation fun?

Answer 7

a little, but the a/c's in modern cars are pretty efficient. It actually wastes more gas to have all the windows open at high speeds, due to aerodynamics and drag than to keep the a/c on.

Answer 8

Yes...the air conditioner is powered by your engine.

A/C is more fuel-efficient than having your windows open above 50 mph. If you're trying to save gas and you're hot and on the highway, close the windows and crank it.

EDIT: Oklatom, I had always been told that. Corrected.

Answer 9

Yes it does. A/C doesn't affect bigger engines as much as it affects 4-cylinder engines, and it doesn't tax the engine as much when you're on the freeway, but it does save gas. However, if you have a big V-8 and you're driving on the freeway, the gas savings will be minimal.

Answer 10

Windows down vs. air conditioning
"Urban puzzle": it is more efficient, on a hot day, to run with the A/C on and windows up than to run with windows down (b/c of increasing car's drag).

Computer-based mpg measurements:

11.7/11.8 with A/C on and windows up
11.7/11.8 with A/C off and windows up
11.3 with A/C off and windows down
So, according to the computer, it's better to use A/C with windows up.

This was too quick and easy for TV, so they decided to stage a seven hour marathon, race-til-you're-empty duel, with Jamie driving an SUV with A/C on and Adam driving an SUV with windows down. Though, once the safety inspector intervened, it was no longer a seven-hour marathon, it was a bit slower (45mph instead of 55mph), and a lot shorter (only 5 gallons each).

Jamie's A/C car ran out of gas first -- Adam's windows down SUV ran for another 30 laps -- completely contradicting the computer mpg estimate. Computer estimate based on air flow into the engine, so it would appear that it is unable to properly model the difference between A/C and windows down.