Motoring

air con

trying to find out accurately how much would the air con in my car (1.8 vectra petrol ) costs per year if it was left on all the time and say putting £25 of petrol per week

brian j john Thurs 08/05/08 18:38

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Buenchico
Thurs 08/05/08
20:27

The effect of air conditioning upon fuel consumption varies greatly depending upon the type of driving (with city driving costing more than open road driving) and the ambient temperature.

Most source estimate that the use of air conditioning adds between 10% and 20% to your fuel bill. So a (very) rough answer to your question would be around £200.

Chris

brian j john
Thurs 08/05/08
20:37

Question Author

thank you chris , i fully understand about the type of driving and that's probably why it would be very difficult to be accurate about it but i've had several estimates of between 1% to 20% but thanks again for your contribution

BJJ

Buenchico
Thurs 08/05/08
20:41

. . . and thank you for your reply.

This link might be of interest:
http://www.northlan.gov.uk/business+and+employ ment/roads+and+transport/smartways/what+driver s+should+know.html

Chris

Panic Button
Thurs 08/05/08
22:44

If you try to save fuel by leaving the A/C off and opening windows you will fail.

Opening windows increases drag and increases fuel consumption.

Lastmanjack
Fri 09/05/08
08:49

On average its about 20%, Automatic air con works best & if you set it at 22 instead of 18 it will cut in less often, but you dont have to use it at all, so fry or chill out its up to you,
as with all mod cons there is a price to pay, everything you switch on in a car causes more strain on the engine & more use of fuel, even the radio.

markysngc
Fri 09/05/08
12:04

theres a good viewpoint on this here

http://www.airconditioningforcars.co.uk/ACpage 05.htm

Zax47
Tue 13/05/08
13:11

A recent test on Mythbusters on the Discovery channel, into the fuel consumption effects of opening windows vs using aircon, had interesting results.

Up to 45mph then opening windows had LESS effect on consumption than aircon, but above 45mph then the opposite was true as the drag effect kicked in. Of course, turning the aircon off and keeping the windows shut has the least effect on consumption.

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