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Does using AC waste gas?
Every time I drive my grandmother around, she insists that I turn off the AC and roll down the windows instead—no matter how hot it is! Help us settle a debate: does using AC waste gas?
Natalie Todoroff · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Answering whether or not using AC wastes gas can get pretty complicated. Your car’s AC system is powered by the alternator, which is powered by the engine. Naturally, the engine needs gasoline to power it—so running your air conditioning uses gasoline.
So, using your AC system uses gasoline, but it’s a fairly negligible amount. In fact, some experts argue that rolling down your windows eats up more gas than using your air conditioning does. When the windows are down, your car is significantly less aerodynamic, which in turn means you need to use more gasoline to get where you’re going.
Sweating it out in your car isn’t the best solution to cutting back on vehicle-related expenses, like gasoline. For that, we’d suggest you download
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Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.
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