It’s no revelation, when you turn on the A/C in your car the gas consumption goes down. According to Jim Francfort at the Idaho National Laboratory , "The hybrids we tested got 15 to 27 percent lower fuel economy with the air conditioning on.�
http://www.hybridcars.com/air-conditioning-effects.html
I have not found this with an '05 Civic Hybrid, although I have to admit, I don’t like A/C so it’s rarely on.
Anyone have some comparisons that they would like to share?
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Yes and No. I've definitely noticed a dip in the ol' mpgs with my '04 Prius when it's 95+ out, the sun is beating in, and I'm driving in the city with the air on and for relatively short distances (15-20 mins. of driving or less). Instead of getting 50+ mpg, it ends up more like something in the mid to low 40's. On longer highway trips (say 25+) with temps in the upper 80's, I can easily get 50+ mpg with the air on.
I imagine there's a bit of a temperature sweet spot where the mileage doesn't suffer too much because once the car is cooled down, the system doesn't have to work that hard to keep it there --especially if it's a cloudy day. My car seems pretty well insulated too. Just last week an hour after I had parked my car I needed to use it again and was kind of surprised to find that the cabin was still noticeably cool from running the air on my first trip.
Oh yeah, and while the Gen II Prius doesn't require the engine to be on when the air is running, the engine will cycle on more often in excessively hot weather...hurting city driving more than highway driving since the engine is normally on most of the time at highway speeds anyway.
I believe the heat also has an effect on the hybrid battery.