How much fuel is consumed when sleeping in a car with the air conditioning on for one hour?
3 Answers
Running the car's air conditioning consumes approximately 6-8 cents worth of fuel per hour. Here are the relevant details: 1. From the perspective of the car's air conditioning configuration: It is mainly divided into manual and automatic types. Generally, manual air conditioning is equipped with a fixed-displacement compressor, where adjusting the air volume has no relation to the compressor. 2. Turning on the air conditioning for cooling: The compressor will always operate at full speed, so the larger the air volume, the greater the power consumption, and theoretically, the fuel consumption will also be slightly higher. 3. Adjusting the temperature in manual air conditioning: It merely mixes more or less hot air into the cold air. In actual usage, the interior temperature never reaches the condition where the compressor would stop running.
Bro, I've got some experience with sleeping in the car with the AC on. The fuel consumption during idling with AC for one hour depends on the car's displacement and AC settings. Generally, a small-displacement sedan consumes about 1.5 to 2 liters, while a 2.0T SUV can go up to 2.5 liters or even more. The key point is that the lower you set the AC temperature, the more frequently the compressor works, and the fuel consumption will skyrocket. I once tested my Japanese car, and it burned about 12 yuan worth of fuel in an hour—enough to buy a bowl of beef noodles. Also, I have to remind you that doing this in a closed car is very dangerous and can easily lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. If you really need to rest, it's safer to turn off the engine and open the windows.
My family owns an auto repair shop, and we deal with cases of idling with AC on every day. For an average car, one hour of idling consumes fuel equivalent to driving about 30 kilometers, roughly 1.5-3 liters. The exact amount depends on the engine type—naturally aspirated engines with lower compression ratios save some fuel, while turbocharged ones consume more. Recently, with the hot weather, some people set the temperature to the lowest, directly doubling fuel consumption. This practice also causes severe carbon buildup. Last week, a Ford Focus had its fuel injectors clogged due to long-term idling with AC. My advice is to avoid using AC if idling exceeds 20 minutes; it's more reliable to park in the shade and sleep with windows open.
