I know that people think using your air conditioning uses more gas.?

Question

But do they think using your turn signals uses more gas also?

SeaSea gets the sarcasm!!!! Must be from Florida.
Use your turn signal people, there is no excuse not to.

Chlobug
Did my question seem too condecending?
You are probably one of those scum bags that doesn't use turn signals, but prefer to use finger signals, when YOU cut people off, and blame the other driver. Go screw yourself.

Answer 1

The truth of the matter is, YOUR CAR, if it is a newer model is designed to have the most efficient use of electricity and engine power. Using your Air Conditioner is not as great a stress on today's vehicles as it was on older models.
When you turn on your A/C a tension gear wheel is linked up against the fan belt to turn the A/C condensor motor.
The A/C consequently makes your engine work slightly harder but it is almost neglidgeable.
If you want to use the AC and still conserve energy, you can
#1 Only use the A/C until it reaches a comfortable temperature and then decrease it, or #2 Only use it in extremely uncomfortable weather.

If you choose to roll down the windows instead of using the A/C you are in effect making the car less aerodynamic. That causes you to have to use more fuel to accelerate since the car is constantly slowing down due to wind resistance.
This is however not true if you have a very aerodynamic convertible since the absense of a back window alos for less resistance.

Ultimately it is better to use the A/C when you need to.
Its better to be comfortable than in misery. Heat is also dangerous since you could have a heat stroke without realizing it.


Your Turn signal is almost irrelavant. It uses less than 5Watts of power when you turn it on. The engine, battery and the alternator
create more power through generation than could be compared to the energy used by the A/C which uses over 10 AMPS.

AC beats turn signal by far.

Answer 2

To everyone that believes the a/c compressor runs off of a gear, it doesnt. It is run by a thermostatically controlled clutch, that is run off of a belt. Thats what you hear clicking on & off, hence it spins, then it doesnt, when the engine & a/c are running. Open your hood with the car & a/c running, locate the compressor, once the interior of the car gets to the desired temp, you'll see the clutch disengage.
Regardless of how new or how old your car is, running the a/c, especially in the city in stop & go traffic, it will cause you to use more gas, some more so than others, and also with the strain it puts on the engine, could cause your car to overheat.
The turn signals, your headlights, stereo, amps, or anything else thats electrical has no bearing on fuel consumption whatsoever.
Those are all electrical and are completely seperate from the fuel system and the a/c system of your vehicle, or any vehicle as far as that goes.
My 96 Camaro with the LT1 has an experimental device, which is an a/c compressor that runs off of an electrical motor, so I still have great gas mileage (as good as an LT1 can get) plus use the a/c all the time without any worries of fuel consumption.

Answer 3

If people think air conditioning causes an increase in gas usage, I wonder how much and what kind of gas they're huffing. Air conditioning uses electricity, power, not gas although there are some propane fueled air conditioners on the market. Equating air conditioning with turn signals has no meaning unless you're trying to equate power consumption. Then, by a serious stretch of the imagination and logic, the comparison might be made.

Answer 4

A constantly running AC will use about 1/2 mile of gas for every gallon used while driving for non-hybrid cars. Opening your windows can actually use more gas than a modern cars AC. The wind resistance that the car has to overcome requires more gas than the AC unit. The AC uses far more power than your blinkers and is used for far longer periods. The AC is robbing power from the engine while the blinker is stealing small amounts of power from the electrical system, especially the newer LED light blinkers. If your battery is fully charged the excess that is already generated by your alternator is simply channeled to the blinker resulting in effectively no extra gas usage. Generally most drivers do not think about energy efficiency as they drive their overly large cars, jack rabbit starts, and driving over the speed limit where overcoming wind drag is the primary consumption of power. The excessive use of flashers is not on their minds nor should it be. Today with the temperate at 113 in Fresno, CA I will freely admit that my cars AC is running full blast.

Answer 5

About 3-5 hp for a/c which translates into about 2mpg less at cruising speed. Turn signals use energy too, but a minute amount,when you use current your alternator must charge your battery with more current, which drags down your engine slightly and burns more fuel.I looked through the replies here and am amazed that people don't know an alternator consumes engine power requiring fuel.Do they think the amperage generated appears out of thin air?

Answer 6

You are very naive if you believe this. Air conditioning only uses more gas if you are tooling around town in stop & go traffic. In moving traffic it creates more drag with the windows down therefore using more gasoline. In this case keep them up with the air on. What do the turn signals have to do with the operation of an auto? Nothing.

Answer 7

The compressor on the airconditioner runs off the engine and ought to require a pair of horsepower. it would not run continuously, it cycles on and off as mandatory. Rolling down the domicile domicile windows on an aerodynamic modern-day vehicle actual motives more effective drag than the flexibility required via the airconditioner- except you're in straightforward words sitting contained in the driveway idling the engine. do not swelter for a cupful of gas. If it is not any longer too warmth to observe the AC, then do not use it, yet on a sunny day, the vehicle receives warmth. this is a lot less a waste to observe the AC than to have the windwos open mutually as speeding down the line. It advance into any incorrect way round 40 5 years contained in the previous. both making use of with the domicile domicile windows down or the AC on is going to fee a dash more effective. vacation a bike in case you prefer to purchase gas.

Answer 8

Your AC is hooked up to your main belt. When it is engaged a tensioner wheel is pushed up against the belt to turn the AC condensor motor which increases the work that the engine has to do. Your signals are working of the electic system of your car which is tied to the battery and alternator. The alternator is a constant work device which means it is always on so it has no impact on the overall efficiency of your car. It's the alternator which recharges your battery.

Answer 9

If you are going over 55, it acutally saves gas to have the air on than having the windows down due to drag. And yes signals use battery energy...

Answer 10

True, running the A/C does steal power from the engine and does burn a bit more fuel.

However, driving with the windows down throws off the aerodynamics by producing drag, which also requires more power. Thus more fuel burned.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Run the A/C and feel better!