It’s hard to imagine driving in Queensland without your car air conditioning working!

In the blistering heat of summer, your car air conditioning provides much more than just comfort; it is also necessary to avoid heat exhaustion so you can drive safely. We get it, you want to get as cool as possible, as quickly as possible, but you also want to do this in a way that gets the most for you and your air-con system.

Handy tips to get your vehicle’s air-con to burn less fuel

Don’t pre-cool

Did you know that it’s actually more effective to cool your car whilst driving? Your car’s air conditioning works a lot better when you’re driving as the A/C compressor runs faster. By pre-cooling the car, you are just wasting time and fuel.

Crack the window

To make sure your car cools faster, open the rear windows for 20 seconds to force all of the hot air out of the car all the way from the front.

Turn it down

You may think that cranking your air-con down to the coolest setting is less fuel-efficient but in fact, it can save some fuel. Setting the temperature to the lowest possible temperature can make the air-con more efficient because it has to dry out the air less. If you set the temperature higher, the system will be reheating the cooled air which will take more effort, and burn more fuel.

Turn off recirculation mode

Recirculation mode takes air from the front and pulls it back through the system. This means everyone in the front stays cool but the air in the back can get stale and hot.

Turn off your stop/start feature

If your car has an auto stop/start feature, then turn it off. Every time your car automatically stops, it turns off the air-con compressor. In extremely hot temperatures you will quickly notice the rise in temperature when you are stopped even for short times such as at traffic lights. Your air-con then has to re-cool this hot air which will be less inefficient.

Park smartly

The smartest thing to do is making sure you park your car in the shade whenever possible. This will prevent heat from building up in your car, enabling your car air conditioning to cool down the vehicle faster. If you’re unable to park in the shade, then just create some instead! Use a sunshade to prevent direct sunlight to penetrate.

Clean your air-con filters

If you see a lot of build-up on your air-con filter then it is time to change it. You can save money and change the filter yourself but if this isn’t possible or you don’t know how, your local mechanic will be able to help, and even give your air-conditioning a once-over whilst you’re at it.

Don’t wait until summer to get your air conditioning serviced! If your system is poorly maintained, then it will cost you more to repair it.