Ferox International Blog

Your air conditioner is your best friend, especially in the Summer, right?  Drivers don’t tend to think twice about blasting their AC when temperatures start heating up.  Remember when gas prices were at an all-time high this past Summer?  Gas prices were ridiculously high in the middle of July-the hottest time of the year.  More and more drivers began to reconsider the use of their AC.

Most drivers think that the more they use their air conditioning, the more gas they are wasting.  Did you know that not using your air conditioner barely makes a difference when it comes to your car’s fuel efficiency?

Your air conditioner uses its power from the engine.  Granted, the engine uses gas but car’s are much more efficient these days.  Using your AC can decrease your fuel efficiency up to 20 percent, but it depends on what type of car your are driving.  Driving with your windows down decreases your fuel efficiency more than driving with the AC on does.  If you drive with your windows down, it creates drag.  Drag means that your engine has to work much harder to keep your car going at its current speed.  Drag wastes more gas than the AC does.

There is a reason why our car’s have an air conditioner these days.  Newer models are more fuel efficient than older models.  So, the use of the air conditioner creates a minimal effect on your car’s fuel consumption.  Don’t think that you are saving yourself a lot of gas anymore when you drive with the windows down instead of using the AC.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Don’t make yourself miserable when the temperatures are sweltering outside, just turn on your AC.  Even with record-high gas prices, you’ll be doing yourself a big favor.