Automotive air conditioning has been largely perceived to be a luxury and a feature that is only available in higher end vehicles. However in this day and age, where we experience some hectic extremes in weather temperatures and are spending considerably greater time periods in our cars, automotive air conditioning has become somewhat of a necessity. Yet, for many years, there has been debate on whether or not automotive air conditioners consume large quantities of fuel and whether or not they are harmful to the environment. Well there are many factors that one needs to take into consideration when forming a decisive opinion on any of these issues. With regard to their excessive fuel consumption, it is important to consider that there are many factors that influence how much fuel a car uses when its air conditioner is on. These issues include, among many others, the engine capacity of a particular vehicle as well as the weight of the air conditioning system used in relation to the car in which it operates. In addition to this, choosing not to make use of your car’s air conditioning system, and choosing to roll down your car’s window can in fact have the adverse effect. It has been proven that driving with your windows open can create “aerodynamic strain”, that increases the energy your car uses, and thus increasing its fuel consumption. Interestingly, some studies have even found that using your air conditioner, as opposed to just keeping it off with the windows closed, actually decreases fuel consumption.   However this was the case in well and regularly serviced air conditioning systems that were designed to be congruent to the weight of the cars in which they were fitted. Fuel consumption will have a correlative effect on the environment, as the more fuel your car uses, the greater the greenhouse gasses it emits, which have a very negative effect on the ozone layer. A lot of air conditioning technology is in the process of being developed that is a lot more eco-friendly, and this technology is available in some of the newer car models. For those with older cars, and regular servicing is the best solution.