Does using the Heat in ur car use up gas?

Question

Does using the Heat in your car use up gas like using A/C in ur car does? I keep on hearing Yes using the heat eats up ur gas or NO just the air cond uses ur gas....

Answer 1

No, it uses heat directly from the engine..., so the loss is minimal.

Now the AC...you actually use MORE fuel on the freeway keeping your windows open than keeping them shut, and using your AC. In traffic, AC will use a little more gas, but todays systems are very efficent.

Funny how our society has lost so much on math and fundamental science(of which both are studies of nature).

Answer 2

No. There might be some small immeasurable amount of fuel used to power the alternator that makes up for the power used for the blower motor. If you weren't dumping heat into the passenger compartment, the excess heat would just be dissipated by the radiator.

Jury is out on AC. Ongoing argument for decades. Yes, it takes energy to run the compressor that compresses the low pressure high temperature gas to higher pressure that is pumped into the condenser. But, most sane people have their windows closed when running the AC. This make the vehicle more aerodynamic and presents less drag.

Older cars had compressors that ran all the time even when cooling was not called for. Newer cars have compressors that only run when cooling is required.

Answer 3

It depends on the car. But in most cars it does not make a difference. On most cars the heat for the car is tied into the engines cooling system, the same coolant that is cycled through your vehicles engine flows through the heater core of your car providing the heat, on some vehicle this happens constantly, and turning the on and off switch only open the heater ducts to pass the warm air from the heater core to the passenger cabin.
Some new systems the heater will automatically engage periodically to dry the condenser.

Answer 4

Using the heater does not effect fuel mileage in any way shape or form. The heater just blows air past a small radiator in the dash, making use of excess engine heat if you will. The blower runs off the alternator, not the engine so economy does not change. Your thinking Air Conditioning, which runs off an engine driven compressor that requires several horsepower to function - horsepower going to keeping you cool instead of turning the wheels.

Answer 5

neither of them use gas. beleve it or not they DO NOT use any more gas than regular driving. The reasion people think they use more gas is because 1 in the winter they let there car warm up using up the gas but no miles are put on and iv seen it in the summer they will let the car on at the station or some place there in and out once again using gas but no miles to som it up if u arnt moving while the cars running this is what makes u think u are using more gas.

Answer 6

The fan may use up a minuscule amount, but the heat is already being generated by the engine. It doesn't make a difference if it's going out the exhaust, or into the car in terms of gas usage.

Answer 7

all those answers and only pink got it...The heat is already there from the motor running....The fan uses NOTHING because the alternator is making 14 volts all the time and the battery only gets 12 volts of it...And cars use LESS gas with AC on then with windows open...

Answer 8

It seems logical to utilize the resulting engine heat for warming the car temperature, and, that it would indeed take more fuel to run the AC. Using the fan to blow the heat into the car may use a modicum more fuel.

Answer 9

And I've heard that it's only when you use the heat it uses the gas up! Should be interesting to see your replies to this question.

Answer 10

I think it must use a little gas to run the heater but nothing like the air conditioner.