Fuel burn rate while idle with A/C

A guy here made it through the Katrina parking lot without refueling (until he was out) with his A/C off. That was at least 10 hours of it plus stop-n-go.

You could be able to get a few days out of a full tank of gas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bsd43 @ May 24 2006, 09:14 PM) [snapback]260750[/snapback]</div>

Your question might not have a definitive answer. The Prius A/C uses a variable-speed compressor to save energy by providing only the amount of cooling required. This means the amount of energy used per hour depends on the demand on the system. I.e., the heat and humidity of the outside air.

Another complication is that the A/C system is electric. So the engine does not have to be running for the A/C to work. Eventually, gas will be burned to replace that energy, but it makes it a lot harder to measure. Coming down a tall mountain in hot weather, the re-gen would give you free A/C.

I'm guessing if you could put up a "car tent" over the car, to keep the sun off it, you'd burn a lot less gas. FWIW I normally see about 1.5 amps draw when stopped and the engine off, but when I had the A/C on the other day I think it was around 6 or 7 amps. Don't remember for sure. But it's probably a lot hotter at Burning Man than it was here, so maybe you'd draw more amperage. Why not just take the heat as part of the overall experience. There must be a reason they have it in the desert.

OTOH you'll probably burn less gas per hour than folks with conventional cars, since the Prius engine will only have to run long enough to charge the battery, and then can shut off for a while, which is going to be more effecient than running it constantly to keep the A/C going.

 

I brought my 2004 Prius to Burning Man last year... A couple of times I took naps in the car with the AC on in the afternoon. I wasn't looking too carefully, but it didn't noticeably affect how much gas I had left. As long as you fill up at the last gas station you should be fine even if you use the AC a lot.

 

And for those far away from us Californians, here's a short description of Burning Man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_man