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Air Conditioning and Fuel Consumption

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by m4prius, May 25, 2004.

  1. m4prius

    m4prius New Member

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    Does anyone have data to compare Air Conditioning usage and Fuel Consumption drop??

    I see that higher temperatures bring better MPG...however when you kick in the Air Conditioning during HOT weather...does one see reduced MPG? If so how much of a reduction can you expect...5% 10%?

    Awaiting the arrival of my internet ordered Prius. :mrgreen:

    Thanks,

    Mike
     
    #1 m4prius, May 25, 2004
  2. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I've noted reduced MPG on longer trips on portions which are uphill, or if the A/C compressor has to run at full speed (really hot day). Turning off the A/C for stretches made a noticable change on my graph.

    We aren't having consistent weather here in SoCal (it's cool and cloudy right now), but if it becomes that way, or while I'm out in the Phoenix area this weekend, I may experiment to see how it's affected. My wife (who's currently living in Phoenix - long story) says her MPG in the '02 is in the mid-30's because she runs the A/C almost full time.

    If I can bear it for portions of the trip, I may do 5 -30 minute blocks to see how it compares.
     
    #2 HTMLSpinnr, May 25, 2004
  3. DonDNH

    DonDNH Senior Member

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    My daughter will be leaving Vallejo on Thursday heading for Phoenix. Wave if you see a NH registration Civic Hybrid over the weekend.
     
    #3 DonDNH, May 25, 2004
  4. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    Only anecdotal.

    Today, I drove from work in reported 95 degree heat, and got slowed down to a crawl on a road I don't normally use. The reported MPGs while crawling along were between 5 and 9. The ICE never stopped running, although I was sure it was warmed up by then, what with two 5-minute bars showing and the second one near 50MPG.

    At that point, I turned the AC temp control up to 80 from 74, and I think it made a difference in what was happening after a bit. No more constant running.

    Now, I'm not thrilled, because at 95 degrees the AC is barely cutting it at full blast, but I was somewhat comfortable and my MPGs were somewhat better...
     
    #4 mikepaul, May 25, 2004
  5. m4prius

    m4prius New Member

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    I believe the Prius Air Conditioner uses the new scroll high efficiency compressor; and this compressor is run from electric power only...so battery drain would occur with constant use and thus ICE would need to run to re-charge the BATT.

    Please correct if wrong.

    Mike
     
    #5 m4prius, May 26, 2004
  6. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Correct, and would need to run at a bit higher load while driving to keep up with the additional energy usage if the compressor was running at full speed (which it would be if the A/C was set at 75F and outside temp was 95-100F). Turning the temp up to a higher, but tolerable temp helps the compressor slow down at times, which reduces power usage, which reduces battery/MG1 load, which reduces fuel consumption.
     
    #6 HTMLSpinnr, May 26, 2004
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