Okay, even tho it is odd that the use of A/C in vehicles take up precious gas, cuz A/C in homes doesn't use gas at all. I dunno why A/C use gas instead of the battery. Which takes up more gas, the cold chill of the air or the speed of the blow?

The compressor runs off the engine because a 12-volt DC motor that's powerful enough to turn it (if it's possible to make one small enough to fit under the hood) would be more than the alternator could handle and would drain the battery in minutes. Why not put in a bigger alternator to handle it? Well, then you're back to a power-robbing device running off the engine again. I believe it's probably more efficient to power the compressor directly; at least it's able to cycle on and off as required instead of being engaged all the time.

The blower motor runs off the current supplied by the alternator (or the battery when the engine is off). It doesn't make much - if any - difference on fuel usage.

Okay, I was worried if I have the blow set to medium or high, it would drain the gas. I have to turn it on, cuz when mom rides with me, she complains of heat. lol

Crank that air up! It doesn't matter what fan speed you have the blower on...The compressor is either off or on, it doesn't have speeds. So it's sapping the same amount of power/gas no matter how high you have it set inside.

Oh, and if you have a newer vehicle, the computer will actually temporarily turn off the compressor when you go wide open throttle, so you won't lose any power at all when you're getting on the highway or something.

Now how do I save some money on the AC at home? Holy cripes! Just got the bill!

I know that keeping the shades drawn during the day helps. What about ceiling fans? Does that help keep it cooler even tho that's sucking electricity as well?

My bill for last month was $150 (that is about $30 more than any electric bill I have ever had in this house...2.5 years). I looked at my meter last night and my bill for next month is going to be between $250-$300! For electricity alone! Is anyone else having this issue? I understand it is hot, but it is no hotter than it has been in the past. Two summers ago we had 50-something days of 100+ degrees, today is only number 10.

I have asked around and have been told that my A/C is working normally since I am getting 15+ degrees temperature differentials. Also, I run my A/C at 78 degrees when I am home (13 hours a day Monday - Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday) and at 85 degrees when I am not home (11 hours a day Monday - Friday...my dogs and cats don't mind because I leave the fans on to circulate the air in the room where I have them).

How does your filter look? Have you changed it? Have you taken the water hose to your condensor....15 degree air is not very good... Also cooling your home from 85 degrees to 78 degrees when it is hotter than Heck outside uses more electricity.

Have you looked at your meter every month..
Last month my bill was over 300 dollars ...said I used almost 4000 killowatts...
This month I used 2200 killowatts and the temps have been hotter...I believe they misread my meter last month, or they estimated.

My ac is at 72 degrees and with the temps in the 100s and the humidty being higher, it has trouble keeping up.

But when the temps are in the 90s, it works fine....
Central Air works by removing the humidity from your home...So it does work harder when it is more humid.

If you haven't cleaned your outdoor coil...well that could be your problem...
We clean ours at the beginning of the year and then after the cotton wood gets done falling...Another thing...When mowing...make sure your condensor is not running..
Just a few tips...I know that we have a high electric bill, but it is always higher Summer and Winter...We do not conserve as well with 2 computers and huge tv...lol
But I about freaked out last month....
This month even with the 10 100+ days we have had, it will be less than 200.00.

Also another thing...You may think that your ac uses so much electricity because of the difference in your bill summer/winter...What really is happening, is that electricity cost more in the summer...
You can go to OGE.com and see your bills and compare killowatt usage..

I have cleaned my condenser (do about 2-3 times a year) and I clean my filter once a month (I have dogs). Maybe I described my temp differential incorrectly, the air coming out of the ducts is usually in the upper 50's. So I assume this is a good temperature differential. It does use a lot of electricity to cool the house from 85-78, but it uses less than if I left the house at 78 all day. For instance, my thermostat tells me how many hours my systems runs in a day. It usually runs about 3-4 hours on a weekday and about 8-9 hours on a weekend. So I am using about half the electricity when I let the house warm up when we are not home.

I also have a big TV (65in 10 year old TV...so it uses more electricity than newer big screens) and multiple fish tanks (that run 24/7). So I know it is not just the A/C using electricity, but I think the bill is a bit larger than normal. The temperature is actually lower than it was two summers ago (average high was 99.2 for the month of July 06 and 95.3 for the month of July 08), so, I should in theory be using less electricity.

i may have misread the initial post, but it sounded like you were thinking the car A/C compressor runs off gas. If you didn't mean that, then disregard this post

the compressor runs off a belt driven by the engine which when the clutch is engaged it puts more draw on the engine which takes more gas to run...
You could probably make a 12v winch motor or something turn it, but then you'd be taking probably hundreds of amps to run, which would kill the alternator, and still put strain on the engine, not to mention it would get extremely hot

again, sorry if that wasn't what you were thinking

Insider, after rereading my post, I am sorry to say it sounded like I was being a Know it all Witch...But really I am a know nothing kind of person...LOL
I didn't mean to sound so hateful, I was just trying to give some advice...
I use to build ACs and one of my best friends and my son are in the heating and air business...You would not believe some of the storys...They pull filters out that are so caked on with dirt that you can't get water to run through them...
And we were just talking about that yesterday...
I do know the price of electricity is more in the summer months..makes me pretty angry...Last year when I wrote OGE and they told me this..I was po'd for a good month....
And I got my bill today...I lied...it was not below two hundred, but it was a far cry from 360.00.
That is why I keep an eye on my meter, but this year I didn't...
Anyways, I just wanted to apologize for sounding like a Witch with a Capitol B....

I also have to keep on eye my electric meter. last April I got a bill for $75.00. I have never got a bill that low, so I read the meter. My bill should have been $180.00. So I sent in $200.00 that month. If I had not caught that my bill would have been over $300. My A/C has been struggling to keep up this last couple of days. My filters are changed twice a month and my outside unit is washed off every month. I need to call an A/C person and have the whole unit, inside and out cleaned, but that is going to have to wait until the electric bill starts coming down.

I already know my bill will be over $300.00 this month, but I have medical equipement that runs all day long.

Otis

My bill for last month was $150 (that is about $30 more than any electric bill I have ever had in this house...2.5 years). I looked at my meter last night and my bill for next month is going to be between $250-$300! For electricity alone! Is anyone else having this issue? I understand it is hot, but it is no hotter than it has been in the past. Two summers ago we had 50-something days of 100+ degrees, today is only number 10.

Maybe you have a problem with another appliance that is not your A/C? You might start eyeing your washer/dryer, dishwasher, and/or refrigerator. Also, possibly your hot-water heater if it runs on electricity.

What is that lil button that has a pix of a car with curve arrow?

Seriously? If you really don't know...it's the difference between pulling air from the outside vs. recirculating air from the vehicle cabin. I tend to use the latter because it keeps the exhaust and cigarette smoke smells out of my car from other drivers. Smokers are especially fond of hanging their cigarettes out of open windows and the smell always creeps into my car, but exhaust smell tends to make me sick to my stomach. I've also noticed when I put it on recirculated air, the air speed goes up. Maybe the car doesn't have to work as hard because it's not having to suck air from the outside?

Hmmm, that is helpful. I noticed that when I don't choose to have it on, no matter, it will come on itself when it wants to. lol I'll leave it on. Another way of going green..recycle air. lol

recirculation usually turns on MAX A/C which on some cars will leave the compressor running continuously. It will seem to blow harder at slow speeds but on some vehicles it will blow harder when you go fast when set to not recirculate because the air is being forced in (noticed this mostly on my truck)

normally I leave my A/C on my Focus on MAX just because once the air is cool, it doesn't have to re-cool outside air that is hot

Hmmm, that is helpful. I noticed that when I don't choose to have it on, no matter, it will come on itself when it wants to. lol I'll leave it on. Another way of going green..recycle air. lol

Sorry...thought you might be trolling.

Sorry...thought you might be trolling.

Me? A troll? Never! lol