Hypermiling

Ok, hypermiling.

What is it? Does it work? Is it too much hard work?

Hypermiling is a driving philosophy which aims to get more ‘mileage’ (kilometrage?) from each litre of petrol. A lot of cars do about 10 kms a litre. Hardcore hypermilers brag about their fuel economy, and some claim as high as 40 to 50km per litre. Some people do it to reduce emissions, but the big motivation is saving money (yay!).

Basically, its a series of techniques, all of which save varying amounts of fuel, resulting in big savings.

Here we go:

Drive a little slower. At a minimum, stick to the speed limit, but even better, when appropriate, like on a quiet road, drive 5 or 10kms slower. A leisurely drive at 90kmh is not only much safer, but hugely more efficient. Saving: when driving over 100kph, every 10kph extra = 7% decrease in fuel economy

Smooth, steady driving is the way to go. Avoid sudden starts and sharp stops. One thing to consider is that by not speeding, you get more green lights, which means less stops and starts. Apparently engines inject 50% too much fuel on full acceleration, so moderate acceleration is more efficient.

Keep tyres at maximum recommended pressure. They will use less energy to roll. Keep checking them thoughout the year, and remember the pressure changes with temperature. Saving: about 3.3%

Avoid idling. If you will be sitting for more than 30 seconds, even at a traffic light, it is better to turn the car off and restart it. This is a little extreme when driving round town, but when waiting on someone or going to the drive-through, it pays to keep this in mind.

Change up to higher gear as soon as possible, especially into 5th gear when driving long distance.

Aerodynamics. At 100km/h, air drag accounts for about 66% or more of all resistance, so some people modify their vehicles to be more aerodynamic. There are moderate ways to do this such as fold-in mirrors, removing roof rack, smooth hubcaps, and installing a rear wing.

Remove all extra weight from your vehicle. Check the boot, the backseat and the floor. If you have a roof rack, remove it when you are not using it. It adds weight and affects aerodynamics. Saving: 50kg extra weight reduces efficiency 1-2%

Keep your vehicle well-maintained. Use the correct fuel, the correct oil, make sure your spark plugs and filters are clean. Your vehicle will run better and be more efficient. Saving: replace air filter – up to 10%

Cruise. If you have it, use cruise control on flat roads to maintain steady speed.

Clean your car. Crazy, but true! It makes your car more aerodynamic. Saving: 7% ! (according to Engineer Tom Wagner, Jr. reported to Stretcher.com)

Windows vs AC. As previously blogged here, it is more efficient to use your air conditioning when driving at high speeds, because of the extra drag caused by having your windows open. Keep your windows down around town though.

Make less trips. This one is kind of “duh”, but apart from the fact you are driving less, there is another reason to do this.  Your engine uses more fuel cold, so when you do all your driving at once your engine is warmer longer. Saving: Half! Several short trips all begun with a cold start can use twice as much fuel as a single, longer trip that covers the same distance!!!

So there you go! EASY!

It’s a little difficult to tell where these tips originally came from. . . it seems a lot of people online have republished them as there own without identifying a source. Tsk tsk. This is possibly the original source.

AND, if you are really keen on this whole idea, there is a community just for you!

Electricity

This is the first in a series of tips about saving money AND the planet. Cos let’s face it, there’s nothing that gives you motivation quite so much as a little extra cash. I am being spurred on by my wish the save money, after receiving THE POWER BILL. This unholiest of documents arrived the other day and after regaining consciousness, I set about improving the power use in the flat.

Step 1: Turning sh*t off, such as the microwave, the telly, the DVD player, cellphone chargers that aren’t charging anything etc. That stuff uses power. Think how warm a cellphone or laptop charger is, that heat is just wasted power. It’s energy transfer, physics baby.

In fact, it is estimated 95% of the energy consumed by cell phone chargers happens when they are left plugged in.

So I went on a dictatorial mish round the flat, searching for things using power and shutting them off. I also changed out the multibox that the TV, Playstation, DVD, and MySky was plugged into. Why? Cos the cordless phone is plugged in there too, so that switch had to be on all the time. It now has a multibox with individual switches for everything, so we can turn it all off at night, but keep the phone on.

Yay! These small changes can add up to a lot, save power, save money, save the planet!

For more info on this and other stuff, check what the government has to say here