system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Does running the car's A/C at 65F require less power than running it at 60F?

Or when I set the A/C at a higher temperature it just means that the cold air from the A/C is mixed with hot air from the outside?
gpt
It depends on the system in your car.

In some cars, the dial sets the temperature of the air blowing at you. The A/C compressor runs the whole time, cooling one air stream as much as it can. That cool air gets mixed with a certain percentage of warm air, which you get "free" from the heat of the engine, so the resulting stream has a temperature of 65 degrees. If your car works like this, there's no difference in energy.

In other cars, there's a temperature sensor inside the cabin, and the dial determines the target reading. If it's too warm, the A/C comes on for a few minutes; then once the air gets cool enough it shuts off again. (That is, it works like the thermostat for central air in a house.) If your car works like this, you will spend less energy cooling it to 65 than at 60, because the compressor will not be running as often.