3. How to Save Energy on the Road

Automotive

Americans drive an average of fifteen thousand miles each year, spending over eight hours a week behind the wheel. Every second of that time is spent burning up energy and dumping pollution and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Here are some quick and dirty energy-saving tips from the experts:

 4.1 ON THE ROAD

  • Drive sensibly.
  • Combine errands into one trip.
  • Use the AC only when absolutely necessary.
  • Use cruise control on the highway.
  • Avoid aggressive driving, which can lower your MPG by 33 percent.
  • Idling gets you zero miles per gallon.
  • Accelerate gently.
  • Maintain a steady speed.
  • Anticipate traffic and keep a comfortable distance in front of you.
  • Coast to decelerate.
  • Drive less.
  • Use your vehicle’s fuel consumption (MPG) display on the dash.
  • Observe the speed limit.
  • It only takes about ten seconds worth of fuel to restart the engine.
  • Use the economy mode if your vehicle is so equipped.
  • Avoid hard braking.

 4.2 THE VEHICLE

  • Buy a fuel-efficient vehicle next time you’re in the market for new wheels.
  • Trade-in your giant SUV or pickup truck for a small car and rent a larger vehicle when you need it.
  • Keep the tires inflated, rotated, and aligned correctly.
  • Switch to radial tires to increase gas mileage by 7 percent.
  • Clear out junk in the car; extra weight reduces MPG.
  • Choose low rolling-resistance tires next time.
  • Track fuel MPG with each fill-up.
  • Measure the tire pressure monthly, and especially with each change of season.
  • Race cars and sports cars all have a low clearance to the road, a great way to improve gas mileage.
  • My eTorque Jeep accelerates using an instantaneous-power electric motor, which gives you better performance than high-performance sports cars.
  • Keep your vehicle tuned up.
  • Read the owner’s manual.
  • Rotate your tires with every oil change.
  • Use the recommended grade of motor oil.

 4.3 THE ENGINE

  • A clogged air filter can reduce gas mileage by 10 percent.
  • Modern vehicles with a V8 engine often have an economy mode to run the engine on four cylinders to achieve much better gas mileage
  • Change the oil and filter every year or five thousand miles (whatever your owner’s manual recommends).
  • Buy gasoline from a major brand because Top Tier brands have superior detergents that cause twenty times fewer carbon deposits in your engine.
  • A power-saver cord for an auto block-heater (keeps the engine warm in extremely cold climates) senses the coolant temperature in the engine. If the temperature drops below the setting, the block-heater kicks on and sends heat to the engine block.
  • If the owner’s manual recommends eighty-seven-grade gasoline, it doesn’t help any to use premium.
  • Put a timer on your auto block-heater to turn it on two to three hours before you leave to work in the morning instead of having it on all night.

4.4 DON’T DRIVE AT ALL!

  • Work from home.
  • Carpool or join a vanpool.
  • Use public transit and sleep or read while everybody else sweats it out in traffic. Arrive at work relaxed versus all stressed out.
  • Every telecommute (working from home) reduces fuel consumption by 20 percent.
  • Park and ride. Park and walk. Park and bicycle.

 4.5 SUMMER DRIVING TIPS

  • Running the AC is the main reason for lower fuel economy, up to 25 percent lower, especially for short trips.
  • Roll the windows down at slower speeds and run the AC at higher speeds.
  • Park in the shade or use a sunshade on the windshield to keep the interior from getting as hot.
  • Get the hot air out of the cabin via open windows after you start driving, then turn on the AC.
  • Most AC systems cool the interior much faster once you’re driving (versus running the AC while idling at stop).
  • Don’t set the AC thermostat any lower than absolutely necessary.
  • Running the AC in hybrids and electric vehicles reduces the mileage even more, as well as the vehicle range.

4.6 WINTER DRIVING TIPS

  • Fuel economy drops by 15 to 30 percent in the winter.
  • Park in a warmer place, such as a garage.
  • Drive off gently after idling for thirty to sixty seconds.
  • Don’t use seat warmers or electric heating elements more than necessary.
  • Use the oil recommended by the manufacturer for cold-weather driving.
  • If you drive a hybrid or electric vehicle, preheat the cabin while it’s still plugged in to increase your driving range.
  • Winter grades of gasoline have slightly less energy per gallon than summer blends.
  • Using four-wheel drive uses more fuel.
  • Tire pressure decreases in cold weather. Rolling resistance increases with an under-inflated tire, decreasing MPG.
  • Battery performance is worse in cold weather, and the alternator must work harder to keep up. This also diminishes the regenerative braking system in hybrids and electric vehicles.
  • Ice or snow on the road makes it harder for the tires to get a good grip, decreasing MPG. Hence the benefit of snow tires.
  • “Safe driving” on icy or snowy roads is much slower than usual, and mileage drops at lower speeds. Cars are tuned for the best fuel efficiency at 55 MPH.

 4.7 WHY DO ALL OF THESE IDEAS REDUCE FUEL CONSUMPTION?

It’s all about resistance: reducing friction in the engine with quality motor oil, reducing the friction of tire versus tarmac, and auto body versus wind. Slower speeds = less resistance at all levels = better MPG.

 4.8 TIRES ARE THE LARGEST SOURCE OF FRICTION.

Keep the tires inflated to the manufacturer’s PSI (they’ll last longer, too). Drive the speed limit. Keep the vehicle clean and waxed smooth for an extra 2 MPG. Put that spray coating to let rainwater run off the windshield. Even if it doesn’t help with the mileage, it makes it easier to scrape the bugs off.

4.9 ALMOST ALL ENGINE WEAR HAPPENS WHEN THE ENGINE IS COLD.

Warm up the engine (the oil becomes more viscous at operating temperature) for a minute or so—more if it’s cold outside. Drive very slow for the first five minutes.

Don’t go up any steep inclines. Don’t accelerate rapidly. Don’t run the AC at all; open the windows for those first few miles.

4.10 GOOD AERODYNAMICS = LESS AIR–FLOW RESISTANCE.

Have you noticed that all vehicles look exactly the same now? That’s aerodynamics at work. The more streamlined the shape, the better the gas mileage. Roof racks, bicycle racks, open windows—a dirty car!—all increase air resistance. Higher resistance means the engine has to work harder to maintain speed.

4.11 BAD RX.

There are several free apps for shopping around for the least expensive prescriptions. Every time I see their adds on TV, I think of all the gas people waste—the time in traffic, finding a parking space—just to save a few dollars. Okay, so the profit margin is so big you can afford to blanket the airwaves with your boring ads. I bet their corporate carbon footprint is humongous.

4.12 FOREVER CHEMICALS KEEP DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT FOR CENTURIES. 

You can now purchase refrigerant in cans for your auto AC because the new refrigerants are “ozone-safe.” Maybe so, but their Global Warming Coefficient is ten to fifty times worse, meaning they add infinitely more to climate change.

4.13  RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.

For some perspective, the “Global Warming Potential” (GWP) of R-22 is two thousand times worse than CO2. One pound of refrigerant does as much damage as a whole ton of CO2. There are hundreds of different refrigerants on the market, mostly for various industrial processes you’ve never heard of. Several have a GWP of over ten thousand— pone pound of the stuff does more damage than ten tons of carbon dioxide!

 4.14 SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP.

FedEx and UPS delivery services (and soccer moms) use a complex mathematics to determine the shortest, fastest path between several chores: pick up laundry, mail a package, pay a bill, drop off Junior at soccer practice, deliver Princess to her piano recital. The formal, mathematical name for this optimization method is called Operations Research.

4.15 DRIVE LIKE GRAMPA.

You get much better gas mileage if you drive conservatively: no speedy accelerations, no more than 7 MPH over the speed limit (after which point the highway patrol notices you), and no sudden stops.

4.16 SMART BRAKES CONVERT MECHANICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY. 

Every burst in speed = a rush of gasoline into the engine to accelerate (except if you have an eTorque engine, an electrical motor does all acceleration). Every time you slam on the brakes (except if your hybrid or eTorque engine has regenerative brakes, which use rotational energy to run a generator, charging the battery) = wasted engine power and wear on the tires.

4.17 THE “UGLY AMERICAN” STIGMA IS BACK.

Do you ever wonder why pickup trucks keep getting bigger and bigger? Because for every sale, even after giant “blowout rebates,” the manufacturer pockets $20,000 cash – pure profit.

4.18 WE ARE HARDWIRED TO EQUATE GIANT PICKUPS WITH MACHISMO. 

U.S. automakers have brainwashed whole generations of men to think they’re super macho, driving one of those ugly monsters. Why don’t automakers build the cute little trucks like they used to (the ones that would fit in the bed of the modern versions)? Likewise, with small, two-door SUVs—ancient history.

4.19 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

Foreign automakers have many smaller cars and trucks, two-door mini SUVs, spiffy little sedans, and baby off-road vehicles. They aren’t for sale in America. Nobody would buy them—too small, too energy-efficient. If the manufacturers try to advertise those vehicles in the United States, it’s money down the drain.

4.20 IS POLLUTION THE PROBLEM OR PROFITS?

The auto manufacturers say it’s America’s strict pollution requirements that keep those small foreign vehicles off the road in the United States. Excuse me, but how is a tiny little Mars car with a motor-scooter-sized engine illegal and a giant, hypercharged V8 monster truck that emits five times as much pollution-per-mile okay?

4.21 PRESIDENTIAL TINT IS COOL, LITERALLY.

Heavily tinted car windows make the inside easier to cool in the summer. Why? Because the window film blocks the high-energy UV wavelengths from the sun. You save AC energy in the summer, but lose out on the sun’s warmth in the winter. However, heat is free (unless you drive an electric vehicle) because the engine is always very hot.

4.22 THE COLOR OF THE VEHICLE IS IMPORTANT, TOO.

Dark vehicles in a cold climate are great, but not so much where the winters are mild. Light colors are better in the southern states but reflect away solar energy that can warm the car in the cold, winter months.

4.23 DRIVING CONSERVATIVELY IN AN EV SAVES LIVES—AND ELECTRICITY. 

Since you charge your electric vehicle from the power supply at home, and since everything in the car is electric, well, saving energy driving an EV is also saving on your utility bills. Consequently, cooling comes at a premium in an electric vehicle. Heating is even more expensive because it’s electric “strip” heat, which is costly no matter where it happens.

4.24 TWO RADIATOR FANS ARE MORE EFFICIENT THAN ONE.

Most vehicles have an electric radiator fan. Larger vehicles sometimes have two fans. Instead of having a single, big fan, they have a medium-sized fan that can handle the cooling load 85 percent of the time and a second one that kicks in when needed. That way, both fans operate at maximum efficiency and minimize the drain on the car battery.

4.25 PICKUPS CAN CUT DOWN ON AIR RESISTANCE EVEN MORE.

A tonneau cover over the bed of a truck makes the vehicle more streamlined and increases MPG. (All that extra weight in the toolbox!) Or pickups can keep the tailgate down or replace it with a rope mesh.

4.26 TIRED OF ALL THESE TECHNICAL DETAILS? THREE MORE  TIPS! 

Under-inflated tires add resistance: MPG drops by half a percent for every 1 PSI low on your tire pressure. Tire pressure increases as the tires heat up, seasonally, and also after a long drive. Any variation in tire pressure, up or down, diminishes MPG. Tires filled with nitrogen, which doesn’t change in volume very much with temperature, maintain a constant air pressure—and optimum mileage.

4.27 YOUR ENGINE LUSTS FOR SYNTHETIC MOTOR OIL. 

You’ll pay more for synthetic motor oil, but it lasts longer and increases your gas mileage more than enough to make up for the extra cost. Be sure to get a highquality filter with your oil change. Scrutinize the filter; some “race car” brands increase gas mileage by reducing their filtration. Gone are the days when you could change your own oil and filter, unless you bring the used oil by a mechanic so it can be disposed of properly.

4.28 HYBRID AUTOMOBILE ENGINES ARE THE BEST OF BOTH  WORLDS. 

Some use the gas engine to charge the batteries. Others rotate the axles using either a gas or electric drive—or both. Most use the energy from braking to turn an electric generator, charging the batteries—i.e., converting forward momentum of the car into electrical energy.

4.29 JEEP’S ETORQUE SYSTEM GIVES YOU ECONOMY AND  PERFORMANCE. 

My two-door Wrangler uses an electric motor to move the vehicle from stop to about 5 miles per hour, after which time the gas engine kicks in. Ninety percent of the wear on the engine is in that 0-5 MPH range, so using the electric motor from a dead stop is a great idea. You also get peppy acceleration, both starting from a stop and when you hit the gas at any speed—better than any sports car (up until 60+ MPH).

4.30 REMOTE START FEATURE? 

Now there’s no excuse for not warming up your vehicle. Some systems even warm (cool) the insides, too.

Future Tech! 

4.31 If everybody used full-synthetic motor oil and top-quality oil filters, gas mileage would increase universally by 10 percent. Some new vehicles require full synthetic; they all should.

4.32 Jeep’s eTorque system should be the industry standard. It (1) takes the worse “wear and tear” loads off the engine at startup, (2) has a split-second response for acceleration at any speed, (3) saves forward moment via regenerative breaks, and (4) lets you get by with an engine half the size with twice the performance.

4.33 Add solar panels in the roof of an eTorque vehicle for a much larger reserve of electrical power, meaning a smaller base gasoline engine.

4.34 “EPUCK” tech converts the residual heat into twelve-volt current (marketed as a hockey-puck sized coffee cup pad) to charge up a smartphone via a USB port. They can use this same technology to (1) extract heat from an engine that’s otherwise wasted via the radiator, and (2) transform all the heat of an engine once it’s shut off into electrical current. This gives you even more reserve power for the eTorque system, and an even smaller gas base engine. And since you’re now using all the engine’s waste heat, it’s MPG increases many fold.