Πώς να αξιοποιήσετε στο έπακρο τα καύσιμα σας

Η επιλογή αυτοκινήτου παίζει μεγάλο ρόλο στον βαθμό στον οποίο η οδήγησή σας επηρεάζει το περιβάλλον, αλλά όποιο αυτοκίνητο κι αν έχετε, υπάρχουν ορισμένα απλά πράγματα που μπορείτε να κάνετε για να μειώσετε τη χρήση ενέργειας (κατανάλωση καυσίμου), CO₂ emissions and pollution.

Αυτές οι συμβουλές οικολογικής οδήγησης είναι σαν την τοποθέτηση λαμπτήρων χαμηλής κατανάλωσης και την αποφυγή της λειτουργίας της τηλεόρασης σε κατάσταση αναμονής – απλές συμβουλές κοινής λογικής που πραγματικά θα κάνουν τη διαφορά. Θα εξοικονομήσετε χρήματα και στα καυσίμων σας.

Πριν ξεκινήσετε

• Λιγότερο Βάρος – Επιπλέον βάρος σημαίνει επιπλέον καύσιμο, οπότε αν υπάρχουν πράγματα που δεν χρειάζεστε στο ταξίδι, βγάλτε τα και αφήστε τα στο σπίτι.
• Streamline – Οι σχάρες/κουτιά οροφής δημιουργούν επιπλέον αντίσταση στον αέρα και έτσι αυξάνουν την κατανάλωση καυσίμου. Εάν δεν τα χρειάζεστε, αφαιρέστε τα, αν το χρειάζεστε, κλείστε τα προσεκτικά για να μειώσετε την επιπλέον αντίσταση.
• Μην χαθείτε – Σχεδιάστε από πριν την διαδρομή για τα άγνωστα ταξίδια ώστε να μειώσετε την πιθανότητα να χαθείτε. Ελέγξτε επίσης την κυκλοφορία πριν ξεκινήσετε.

On the Way

• Leave promptly – Don’t start the engine until you’re ready to go. This avoids fuel wastage due to unnecessary idling and ensures that the engine warms up as quickly as possible. (In winter months, scrape ice rather than leave the car idling for a long period to warm up).
• Easy does it – Drive smoothly, accelerate gently and read the road ahead to avoid unnecessary braking.
• Decelerate smoothly – When you have to slow down or to stop, decelerate smoothly by releasing the accelerator in time, leaving the car in gear.
• Rolling – If you can keep the car moving all the time, so much the better. Stopping then starting again uses more fuel than keeping rolling.
• Change up earlier – Change gear as soon as possible without laboring the engine – try changing up at an engine speed of around 2000 rpm in a diesel car or around 2500 rpm in a petrol car. This can make such a difference to fuel consumption that all cars in the future are likely to be fitted with Gear Shift indicators that light a lamp on the dashboard to indicate the most efficient gear change points.
• Cut down on the air-con – Air conditioning increases fuel consumption at low speeds, but at higher speeds the effects are less noticeable. So if it’s a hot day it’s more economical to open the windows around town and save the air conditioning for high speed driving. Don’t leave aircon on all the time – you should run it at least once a week throughout the year though to maintain the system in good condition.
• Turn it off – Any electrical load increases fuel consumption, so turn off your heated rear windscreen, demister blowers and headlights, when you don’t need them.
• Stick to the limits – Drive at or within the speed limit – the faster you go the greater the fuel consumption and the greater the pollution too.
• Don’t be idle – If you do get caught in a queue avoid wasting fuel by turning the engine off if it looks like you could be waiting for more than three minutes.

Coasting – does it help save fuel?

Coasting – rolling downhill or approaching a junction with the car out of gear – is inadvisable because the driver doesn’t have full control of the vehicle, though it used to be quite a common practice to save fuel.

• You lose the ability to suddenly accelerate out of tricky situations.
• You lose engine braking which takes some of the load off the brakes on down hill stretches and helps to avoid brake fade – overheated brakes require harder pedal pressures to stop the vehicle.

These days, coasting is still inadvisable and changes in vehicle fuel systems mean it won’t save you fuel either.

Old car with carburetor – take your foot off the accelerator pedal with the car in gear and fuel is still drawn through into the engine. Fuel savings could be made by coasting out of gear.

Modern car with electronic engine management – fuel and ignition systems are effectively combined and controlled by one Electronic Control Unit (ECU). Take your foot off the accelerator and the ECU cuts the fuel supply to the injectors anyway so there’s nothing to be gained by coasting.

Modern diesel engines – these also have the ability to shut off the fuel when you take your foot off the accelerator.

How much can you save?

The aim is to see how much you can improve on your current average fuel consumption or the ‘official’, manufacturer’s figure by following the advice above.

If your car has an onboard computer that records fuel economy (kilometers per gallon / KPG) then take a note of the overall average fuel consumption you’re getting now and then see how much you can improve it by following the ‘eco-driving’ advice above.

It should be possible to re-set the computer so it starts recording a new average KPG.

With no onboard computer, you’ll first need to find out the official, manufacturer quoted fuel consumption for your car. You may see three different figures quoted, ‘urban’, ‘extra-urban’ and ‘combined’ – it’s the third, ‘combined’ figure that you want.