Does Turning on the Air Conditioning Affect the Car's Power?
4 Answers
Turning on the air conditioning does affect the car's power, especially in small-displacement vehicles. Here are specific details about car air conditioning: 1. Function: Car air conditioning can cool, heat, ventilate, and purify the air inside the cabin, providing a comfortable environment for passengers, reducing driver fatigue, and improving driving safety. Air conditioning has become one of the indicators to measure whether a car is fully equipped. 2. Components: Car air conditioning generally includes cooling devices, heating devices, and ventilation devices. This integrated system makes full use of the limited space inside the car, featuring a simple structure and easy operation, making it a popular modern car air conditioning system internationally.
Turning on the AC does affect a car's power, especially noticeable in small-displacement vehicles. From my 10 years of driving experience, the most direct observation is that the throttle feels heavier with the AC on in summer, and acceleration for overtaking isn't as sharp as without AC. This happens because the AC compressor diverts some of the engine's power, equivalent to losing 3-5 horsepower. For daily commuter cars, the impact is more pronounced during low-speed city driving, while it's less noticeable at highway speeds. When extra power is needed, you can temporarily turn off the AC button for a boost, or plan AC usage wisely—like turning it on only after starting from a traffic light. Additionally, keeping the engine throttle clean can reduce the load; I get mine cleaned every 20,000 kilometers.
In principle, turning on the air conditioning inevitably consumes power because the compressor needs to be driven by the engine. Especially for naturally aspirated models below 1.6L, the torque output drops by more than 10% when the AC is on, and the throttle response becomes noticeably slower. Turbocharged cars fare slightly better, but they can also feel sluggish when boost pressure is insufficient. The most annoying scenario is being stuck in traffic with the AC on during summer—it wastes fuel and saps power. Fortunately, newer cars now feature intelligent AC management, such as automatically reducing compressor power during highway driving. When driving, we can pay attention to two things: turn off the AC before climbing hills to reserve power, and regularly replace the cabin air filter to maintain cooling efficiency, thereby reducing unnecessary power loss.
I have a deep understanding of the power loss when using air conditioning. Last year, I drove a friend's 1.2T car to the plateau. When fully loaded with five people and the AC on, the engine had to rev up to 3000 rpm just to barely climb a slope. Turning off the AC immediately made the car feel much lighter. The main issue is that the air conditioning compressor consumes about 5% of the engine's power, which is especially noticeable in small-displacement cars. The impact is weaker in larger-displacement cars, but fuel consumption still increases. I tested this with a 2.0T car and found that using the AC adds about 1 liter of fuel per 100 kilometers. For daily driving, it's advisable to plan wisely: use the fan at low speeds and turn on the AC without hesitation at high speeds. Here's a small tip: using the recirculation mode can reduce the load on the compressor, effectively saving some power.
