Green Term of the Week - Hypermiling

The news about gas prices and the gas supply over the past few weeks have been alarming. We've been watching a lot more news commentary type programs lately, mostly because of the elections, so I've been listening to all of the reasons why the experts think the gas prices are going up so quickly.

People are beginning to conserve gas in ways that they haven't for decades. This isn't a bad thing. The other day one of the kids across the street was having a birthday party at a play place and he invited my boys and another neighbor boy. I went across the street and asked the other neighbor boy and his mom if they wanted to ride to the party with us. Every little bit helps.

There are those that are really taking the "every little bit helps" maxim to heart and practicing something called hypermiling to save every drop of gas they can.

Hypermiling is the act of driving your car so that you can maximize gas mileage. It includes things you may already do like using cruise control and keeping your tires inflated, but it also can include more extreme things like drafting - the practice of turning your car off on the highway and allowing it to use the reduced wind resistance from the car in front of you to work for you.

It's easy to see why hypermiling is becoming popular right now. Between the high gas prices, the concern about the oil supply, and environmental awareness, people are looking to conserve. If you're one of those looking to conserve, I suggest you try some of the hypermiling tricks, but be careful of some of the more extreme, dangerous ones like drafting.

Here are some links to sites with some ideas:

The Ultimate Guide to Hypermiling
Maximize your Car's Efficiency with Hypermiling

American Idling - If You're Gonna Use The Drive-thru, Turn off the Engine!

I hadn't intended on taking my car though the bank drive-thru this morning, but my morning was rearranged by unexpected circumstances. So I found myself loading my son in the car with me and heading to the bank. There was an open drive-thru lane so I choose the drive-thru, pulled up, put my car in park and then turned off the engine. 

I was in the lane for about 5 minutes. The person in the lane next to me was there when I pulled up and still there when I left - with her car on the entire time. There were two other lanes with cars idling, too. 

I started to get really agitated. I wanted to yell out my window, "Turn your cars off! Don't you want to save gas? Do you know how much pollution you're causing by keeping your car on for NO GOOD REASON?" 

Of course, I restrained myself. It was just six months ago that I would have left my car idling, also. And if I think of how many years I've been driving and how many drive-thrus I've sat in with my car idling away, I'm a bit ashamed. But I can't change what I have done.

But I can ask you, nicely and politely, without yelling at you that you're stupid, to please turn off your car when you are sitting for any length of time in a drive-thru.

Contrary to popular myth, turning on and off does not waste gas. It used to, when engines were built differently, but not any longer. There is a good article at Slate that explains the hows and whys of it all, so I'll let you click, here, and let them do the technical explanation.

Next time you're in the bank drive-thru, waiting outside of school to pick up your kids, or pulled over to the side of the street to talk to someone on the sidewalk, turn off your car. It will leave less pollution and save a little gas, too. With today's gas prices, every little bit saved is money in your pocket.

Ten Ways to Conserve Gasoline

As promised yesterday, today I've got some ideas on how to make your gas dollars go further. I have never seen prices at the pumps this high before. My husband and I both work from home and the car we primarily drive is a hybrid, so these high prices aren't killing us the way they are for some of our friends. I can't imagine how much we'd be paying if my husband was still doing the one hour each way commute that he used to.

How can you stretch what's in your gas tank to get the best value for your fuel dollars? Try these tips.

1. Plan out your weekly errands and take the most efficient route when doing them. Try to only run errands once a week. A lot of gas gets wasted running to the post office today, the dry cleaners tomorrow and Target the next day. If you can do them all in one day and take the most direct routes from one place to another, you'll save gas.
   
2. Drive the speed limit. The Department of Energy estimates that for every 5 mph you drive over 65 mph, there is a 7% decrease in fuel efficiency. The slower you drive, the better gas mileage you'll get.
   
3. Keep your tires inflated. Americans waste 4 million gallons of gasoline each day simply because their tires are under inflated.
   
4. Carpool with others who work with you. Taking the extra few minutes to pick up a colleague or waiting five minutes before you leave work for him or her to finish up may seem inconvenient at first. But by carpooling with just one other person, you can cut your fuel consumption to and from work in half. Add another person to the car, and the savings are even greater.
   
5. Forgo warming up your car. Now that the weather is getting a little warmer, this isn't such a big deal. In the winter, however, many people leave their cars idle for 15 - 20 minutes or longer to get it warm. Suck it up and drive in a cold car. It will warm up eventually.
6. Walk or bike. Not driving your car will certainly conserve fuel. If it's possible to go on foot or by bike instead of in the car, do it as often as you can. This is especially easy this time of year because the weather is not too cold or hot.
7. Maintain your car. When the oil is changed, the spark plugs are sparking, and all is tuned up, you'll get better gas mileage.
8. Say no to going out more often. Tell your friends you'll catch them next time. Order a movie off of pay per view instead of running out to the video store. Eat what you've got in the house instead of running out for take out. 
9. Avoid traveling in heavy traffic. All the stopping and starting, slamming on the breaks, quickly accelerating and decelerating that happens during times of heavy traffic is harder on the gas mileage. If possible, don't drive during rush hour.
10. Get rid of your gas guzzler. Do you really need that SUV? How much off roading are you really doing, anyway? Trade in your current vehicle for something with better gas milage. It doesn't have to be a hybrid, but don't count them out immediately. 

If you have some other suggestions for getting more out of each gallon of gas, please share them in the comments.

I Love My Prius - A Little Praise for my Hybrid

For the past few days every time I've driven by the local gas station it seems the price has gotten higher and higher. I live in a state that has some of the lower gas prices, at least in the northeast, but they've gone well over $3/gallon in the past few days.

So I'm just taking a minute to say, "I love my Prius." Technically, it's my husband's Prius. A year ago he traded in his SUV that was getting maybe 12 mpg for the little hybrid sedan. I have a mini van that I rarely drive. Since we both work from home, if I need to run out, I take the hybrid. 

The Prius was more expensive than any car we had bought in the past. Initially, it was a financial hit. But, the money it saves on gas will more than make up for its initial cost long before we're done with the car. 

If you're in the market for a new car, please consider checking out hybrids. Don't allow the initial sticker shock to turn you off before you educate yourself on the benefits of owning a hybrid. Not only do you save money on gas, but you save gas and create less pollution by driving a hybrid. 

There are so many options out there, and each year car manufacturers are adding new hybrids to their lines. And not only are they adding new models, they are working to make the hybrids even more fuel efficient. GM is currently working at making their hybrids 15-20% more efficient by 2010. 

Oh, the Pressure!

There are lots of little, easy things that can be done to make this world a little greener. Making sure the tire pressure on your car's tires is where it should be is one of them.

I read the other day that Americans waste 4 million gallons of gasoline each day simply because their tires are under inflated. 4,000,000 gallons! Some simple third grade math (okay, actually some simple computer calculated math) tells me that’s over 1.4 billion (1,460,000,000 to be exact) gallons a year.

I must admit. I have no idea how to put air in my car's tires. I've always had my husband do it because I'm afraid the tire will explode on me. Before I was married I suppose the tires only got inflated properly when I took my car in for service.

I think this weekend I'll have my husband teach me how to inflate my tires.

There are other things you can do to your car to help it achieve more efficient gas mileage. For more tips go to:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml