Car AC Temperature Vs Power consumption

Hi All,

I am curious to know if the power consumed (in turn fuel consumed) is dependant on the car a/c temperature that we use it to. this strikes me more because the car a/c, i am not sure, has a thermostat...... any thoughts???

Regards,

ASV

Car A/C has a thermostat, the speed depends on the fan which runs on battery, but if the cabin is cooled faster, the chances of cut off are more, which means compressor is switched off. But again, at higher speeds, the cut off is a for a very short duration.

Power consumption is much different if you use A/C at lower or higher speeds.

Mods, could this thread be moved to the correct section. Maybe Thinking Pad.

Yeah 1st tell us which car u own becoz in small cars like maruti 800, santro if u put ac at max u may feel that car is getting pulled backward to avoid this park ur car under shade if the interiors becomes hot then pull down all the windows & wait for some times then pull all the windows & run the A.C at max for sometime when the car is parked then while driving keep it below max at a modarate temprature which is comfortable for u.

its synonymous to that of the refridgerator/AC in our homes. More cooling - more power consumtion and vice versa. In cars also its the same. The more cooling you use, the more power will be pulled from the engine. Because of this you will experience a drop in power of the car.

Thank you all for your replies .... I am using a Santro... and I guess all of you collectively have answered my query....

Regards,

ASV

Well, IMO using the blower setting at low will give better mileage primarily because the compressor will cut more often as a result of faster dropping of the evaporator's (cooling coil) temperature. The thermostat that cuts off the compressor monitors the cooling coil's temperature. Less air flowing over it means that the cooling coils temperature will drop faster than with more air flowing over it (more air means greater heat to absorb which means slower drop in temperature), and as a result the compressor will trip faster. This may seem counter-intuitive as less blower setting implies less cooling of the cabin air. But the thermostat monitors the cooling coil's temp. AND NOT the cabin air temp.