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Last week I used the air conditioning for about 15-20 minutes whilst driving from town back home. The journey was about 5 miles. How much extra petrol would I have used because of using the air conditioning ?
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Put some new batteries in the calulator
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A quick google search should give you a few figures.
Eg. "Air conditioning can increase fuel consumption by up to 10% in stop-go traffic. At motorway speeds, air conditioning increases fuel consumption by 3 to 4%."
Personally, I never really noticed much difference in my 99 1.8 - I seemed to average around 31-32mpg regardless of driving speeds and whether the air con was on or not.
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Never noticed a measurable difference in any car I've owned. I presume this is because if I don't have air-con on, I tend to drive with windows or sunroof open and that affects economy too.
The way you drive a car, and on what type of roads makes a far bigger difference to economy than whether you use the air-con or not, in my experience.
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Obviously not relevant in stop/start traffic but HJ says that the extra drag caused by driving with the windows open, at speed, is worse for the fuel consumption than windows shut and a/c on.
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My last 4 cars have had air conditioning, and using it has only made about 1 mpg difference on all of them. I leave it switched on permanently as it prevents the windows from misting up in winter, and also helps keep the system in A1 condition.
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I haven't noticed any difference in mpg with/without a/c on in my '97 Escort 1.8 (same engine) - although it seems slightly more reluctant to climb hills at 50mph in 5th gear with a/c switched on. I would think the oft-quoted 3-4% figure would be about right.
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