The summer months are upon us and that means long, hot car rides. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably been asking yourself: does air conditioning use gas? The answer is yes, air conditioners use a lot of gas. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an air conditioned car uses about 20 gallons of gas per month. That’s enough gas to fill up a half-tank of gasoline!
Now that you know how much gas an air conditioned car uses, it’s time to figure out how to save on your gas bill this summer. There are a lot of things you can do to reduce the amount of gas your car uses, and we’ll show you some tips in this article.
What is air conditioning?
The AC in your car uses electricity to run the compressor. This means that it is not using gasoline.
How does air conditioning work?
Most vehicles have an air conditioning unit. This is a machine that uses refrigerant to cool the air inside the car. The refrigerant is a gas, and it needs to be replaced periodically.
Is air conditioning using gas?
Air conditioning use gas in a few ways. The most common way it uses gas is when the compressor kicks in to get the unit up and running. This can use anywhere from 1-5 gallons of gas per hour. When the unit is running, it uses a small amount of gas to run the fan and keep the interior cool.
Another way air conditioning uses gas is when the A/C is turned off but the car is still in motion. The motion of the car can cause energy to be wasted turning on and off the air conditioning unit. To avoid this waste, some car manufacturers have started installing systems that turn off air conditioning when the car is not moving. This way, only when you stop at a stoplight or come to a complete stop does the AC turn back on. This use of gas can be minimal, depending on how fast your car is moving.
Conclusion
Yes, air conditioning in a car does use gas. But the process of converting mechanical energy into thermal energy to cool the interior of a car uses far less gas than traditional gasoline-driven vehicles. In fact, most modern cars are equipped with an electric compressor that operates on electricity from the battery, which makes this type of vehicle even more environmentally friendly. So while you may be using gas to power your air conditioner in your car, you’re also helping reduce emissions and saving some money at the same time!