Air Conditioning...

[h2photo]

Ok, living in AZ A/C is a MUST! After the car sits outside all day its literally 190(or so it feels like) inside. I mean, I keep hot-pads in the car for the steering wheel! But onto the real reason for this post.

My husband and I were discussing the fact that I leave mine on Auto A/C & rarely just put the fan on. I do change it from LO (right when I get in the hotbox) to 80 (once its cooled down). But I leave the Auto A/C on at 80.

Do the differences in A/C temperature cause different MPG outputs?

I hope this makes sense!

TIA!!!!

[Tyrin]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(h2photo @ Jun 22 2007, 09:02 PM) [snapback]466698[/snapback]</div>

Ok, living in AZ A/C is a MUST! After the car sits outside all day its literally 190(or so it feels like) inside. I mean, I keep hot-pads in the car for the steering wheel! But onto the real reason for this post.

My husband and I were discussing the fact that I leave mine on Auto A/C & rarely just put the fan on. I do change it from LO (right when I get in the hotbox) to 80 (once its cooled down). But I leave the Auto A/C on at 80.

Do the differences in A/C temperature cause different MPG outputs?

I hope this makes sense!

TIA!!!!
[/b]

The Auto A/C is smart. If you just leave it on 80, it will cool to that temp just as fast as if you turn it to LO first or turn off the Auto. Of course, up here we have the problem like today, when it was actually cooler than my A/C temp, and so I found it pumping hot air! That's when you shut off the auto, and just use the fans, no A/C. For you this probably doesn't happen until late fall...

[h2photo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tyrin @ Jun 22 2007, 07:08 PM) [snapback]466701[/snapback]</div>

The Auto A/C is smart. If you just leave it on 80, it will cool to that temp just as fast as if you turn it to LO first or turn off the Auto. Of course, up here we have the problem like today, when it was actually cooler than my A/C temp, and so I found it pumping hot air! That's when you shut off the auto, and just use the fans, no A/C. For you this probably doesn't happen until late fall...
[/b]

Yea I heard it was cool & rainy in Iowa today! (I'm originally from Ames)

Thanks for the info

[Tideland Prius]

Depends. Sometimes if you pump the temperature up high enough, it'll turn off the A/C. (In my area, that's usually 24°C. 23 and below and the A/C comes on)

[PriusBoyAZ]

I live in Buckeye and drive to Scottsdale regularly. I have my A/C set to 75 or 80 degrees and get 50-55 mpg freeway. From my experience, using the A/C makes little difference in real-world gas mileage. Other factors, such as wind, road conditions, speed, and driving style have a much greater impact.

[pyccku]

Ha ha ha....fall...yeah, those temperatures won't be low enough to use the van until late November or early December if the weather was like it was this past "fall"!

Right now it's 112.5 on my front porch. Thank God for A/C!

[brick]

Running the auto climate control at 80F hasn't hurt my fuel economy all that much. It makes more of a difference in stop & go since battery capacity diminishes visibly. I might get 55mpg when I would otherwise get 60-65mpg. But my commute is mainly on the open road at 50-60mph and I've been getting 57-58mpg instead of 60-61mpg. I say leave it at 80 and don't worry about it.

[desertbriez]

79 seems to be my magic number.... we've been over 100 for the past several days (and 114 when we head to the low desert!)

i do think the a/c has had a negative impact on my FE.... but then i haven't had the car long enough to really know that as a fact////

[alexstarfire]

It kills my MPG n stop and go traffic. Seriously, from about 65 MPG to 30 MPG at best. I don't use the highway though. One, because I don't like our highways, and two, because the places I go I don't need the highway.

I agree that on the highway that the AC really doesn't matter. However, in stop and go it's just killer when the engine is almost always running.

[Blegate]

[quote=Alexstarfire @ Jun 29 2007, 11:59 PM) [snapback]470503[/snapback]</div>

It kills my MPG n stop and go traffic. Seriously, from about 65 MPG to 30 MPG at best. I don't use the highway though. One, because I don't like our highways, and two, because the places I go I don't need the highway.

I agree that on the highway that the AC really doesn't matter. However, in stop and go it's just killer when the engine is almost always running.
[/b]

Ditto...] 5pm I've got 18 miles of stop-n-go on a HWY and AC kills MPG. In the AM commute I get 55 to 65 MPG easy but PM it goes down to 42-45 easy. I find myself cycling the AC on and off @ times in stop-n-go...

b