How much power does a car air conditioner take

Fans of drive in open sections of the road constantly complain about their cars. Like, when the air conditioner is on, the power of the machine drops significantly. This is especially evident when overtaking, when you need to quickly increase the engine speed in a couple of seconds for safe maneuver. Naturally, the question arises - how much power does a car air conditioner take?

Immediately, we note the fact that we are talking about power losses on classical fuel - high-octane gasoline. If the engine runs on propane or methane, then without an air conditioner it is problematic to quickly increase speed. But not the point.

 

How much power does a car air conditioner take

 

Automotive Edition Which Car decided on a test drive. The task is to find out how the operation of the air conditioner affects the performance of the motor. For the test we took the most popular naturally aspirated car in 2020 - the Mazda MX-5. Motor power - 184 horsepower, volume - 2 liters.

Using a dynamometer in the laboratory, we measured:

• 3 times with the air conditioner turned on.
• 3 times with the air conditioner turned off.

The result was interesting. The compressor drive takes 5% of the torque from the engine. This is not to say that this is an overestimated figure, but for overtaking or a protracted rise, it is these 5 percent that many drivers lack. Conducting research on how much power an automobile air conditioner takes, high-quality fuel of a well-known brand was used. Accordingly, if the car owner pours diluted gasoline into the tank, but the percentage of losses may increase.

 

In general, lovers of fast driving, in the summer season, will have to choose between a drive and a microclimate in the cabin. You can, of course, open the hatch or windows, but then the dynamics of the car will suffer. Like it or not, you have to sacrifice something.