AttemptGreen.com

We are all getting upset over gas prices and looking for ways improve the outlook for fuel.  A lot of people are looking at the cars they drive, ways they commute, or perhaps even instituting flextime at work or telecommuting.  But have you thought about looking within your home?   Most people don’t think about energy their homes consume when they feel the “pain at the pump”.

According to some stats published by Owens Corning (they cite the Department of Energy, but take it for what it’s worth), 80% of homes built before 1980 are not insulated to government standards and even newer homes are only insulated to the minimum standard.  They also have the following quote on their website:

“Many Americans assume that transportation and industry are the largest consumers of energy in the U.S., but it’s actually buildings,” said Wendy Burt from the U.S. Department of Energy. “The electricity consumed by one single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars. The good news is there are simple energy-efficient upgrades we can make, such as adding insulation in the attic and caulking windows and doors that reduce our energy footprint and save us money.”

Owens Corning also offers a Home Report Card Quiz to figure out where your home ranks for energy efficiency.  I took the quiz for my house back in Cleveland (we sold it for those of you following my personal life as well) and it received a grade of B.  We were good with energy efficient appliances, good on the hot water heater, decent on the windows, but we could have improved on sealing up those cracks that temperature controlled air leaks out of.  Now I do realize all this information could be taken as slighted since it all comes from a company that produces insulation.  Even if half of it were true, this is still pretty amazing and they are things we should pay attention to.

Instead of getting mad and support off shore drilling, do something about it.  Add value to your home; conserve the energy you use, by making your home more energy efficient.  Whether it be to insulate your home, or just sealing up cracks around the home where heated and cooled temperatures leak.  While I’m awful at economics, I do know that by not using fuel for heating and cooling, it makes it available for other uses and would lower prices because there is less demand (or something like that).

There has been a lot of news lately about how gas prices are going to reach $4.00/gallon this summer.  So I thought it would be appropriate to talk about how your driving style can directly impact the fuel consumption of your car. When a car manufacturer publishes the fuel economy (like say 35 MPG), this is achieved under closer to ideal conditions, and driving style (along with road condition) can change the actual MPG achieved.  I believe that there are essentially 3 types of drivers: 1. Aggressive, 2. PITAs, and 3. Easy Going.

Aggressive drivers waste a lot of fuel.  The real quick speeding up to get around someone or just to take off at a light really uses gas unnecessarily.  Do you really need to get in front of the next car to make it to your destination 5 seconds sooner?  The last minute breaking is also wasteful.  Aggressive drivers use full amounts of fuel until the last minute when they hit their breaks, when they could be slowing down sooner and use a lot less gas.

Pain In The A** (PITA) drivers also waste fuel.  Let me explain my term for a PITA driver.  This is the person that drives insanely slow, takes forever to make a turn, and sits at light long after it has turned green.  Some people might ask, if they are driving so slowly, how could they be wasting gas?  Think of it this way, accelerating takes more gas than just cruising.  If I accelerate at a normal pace for say 1 minute, yes more gas is consumed than if I accelerate at a slower speed for 1 minute.  But it will take much longer for a PITA driver to get up to cruising speed; therefore they are using more gas for the trip they are making.  (Yes, there is a sweet spot for this, but I think that is where the calm, easy going driving fits in.)

The easy going, calm driver fits in in-between the previous two driving styles.  Easy acceleration, but not too slow.  Takes the foot off the gas pedal and just coasts on an exit ramp when they know they need to stop.  This style of driving can achieve close to peak fuel efficiency for the vehicle they are driving.

So I’ve been watching how I drive the past couple weeks and try to be a much more calm driver.  With the instant fuel efficiency indicator that I have in my car, I can really watch how I drive impacts the fuel economy. Here is a short list of things that I’ve been watching myself do to get better fuel efficiency:

1. Take my foot off the pedal on exit ramps and just coast
2. Let myself speed up on the downhill to store up momentum (no speeding tickets from this yet)
3. Let the car slow down a bit while going uphill (what goes up must come down, see #2)
4. Don’t just “take off” from a red light, ease into it
5. Anticipate the traffic  in front of me, so that I can change lanes before reaching a car that I would have to slow down for and then speed up again after the lane change

Even with all of these changes, it doesn’t change how long it takes me to get to my destination either.  So what kind of driving style do you currently have?

Remember to perform basic maintenance on your car to also help with fuel efficiency.

Maintaining your car is very important for keeping your car running, extending the life of your car, as well as for safety.  But as Eric pointed out, it is also important for your full economy and emissions.  I’ve looked at a variety of sources online that all provide varying information on things that effect fuel economy, but three things are consistently listed.

1. Tire pressure – many sources say that if your tires aren’t properly inflated, it can cause a 2-3% loss in fuel efficiency.  At $3/gallon of gas, that is essentially losing $0.09 for every gallon of gas you buy while your tires aren’t properly inflated.
2. Air filter – sources site that not having a clean air filter can cause up to a 30% loss in fuel efficiency!  I was most surprised at this, but thinking about it, it makes sense.  If then engine doesn’t have proper air flow getting to it, how could it run efficiently.
3. Lighten the load – the more weight that needs moved the more fuel it is going to consume.  One source even says for every 100 extra pounds in a car, there is 1-2% fuel efficiency is lost.

I drive a 2003 Civic Hybrid, which has this cool feature on the dashboard that allows me to see my instantaneous fuel economy.  While I don’t have any scientific evidence of this, I notice a much more considerable amount of effect on my gas mileage based on my tire pressure.  They say you should check your tires at least once a month, I would say more often if the weather changes frequently (like it does in Ohio this time of year).  Many of the sources have thorough instructions on how to check you tire pressure.

So with all this, there are three things to do:

1. Check the tire pressure for proper inflation.
2. Replace the air filter when recommended (most techs will check the filter for you when you get an oil change done).
3. Unload the car from shopping trips and any unnecessary items immediately.

Sources: NHTSA, AAA, FuelEconomy.gov