What is Eco-driving?
Written by Olivia Crosby
Eco-driving describes fuel-efficient driving techniques and strategies that emphasize decreasing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. These can include vehicle selection and maintenance, driving behaviors, and route selection.
How can we decrease fuel consumption?
Ultimately, the most effective way to reduce your fuel consumption is to drive less. When possible, you can opt for active modes of transportation such as walking, biking, or using public transit. Additionally, when using a vehicle, you can carpool, vanpool or combine trips. If you have a remote or hybrid job or schooling, opt to work from home if possible.
When you do choose to drive, you can easily incorporate fuel-efficient driving techniques and behaviors, to make your money and vehicle go further; all while doing your part to maintain air quality and reduce GHG emissions!
Warming up your vehicle
Yes, Calgary can be cold, but the practice of idling, or warming up your car, for prolonged periods of time has been made obsolete for most modern vehicles. Thanks to electronic fuel injection systems, most modern cars only require 30 seconds to a minute of idling to get the oil to circulate through the engine properly. Older vehicles with carburetors may require a warm-up time of 2-5 minutes. Even in extreme cold temperatures (-30°C and below), 2-3 minutes is really all that’s required. Always consult your vehicle owner’s manual for specific guidance! Additionally, you may also opt to use a block heater to pre-warm your engine or park in garages, thus shortening your needed idling time. After a short warm-up period, accelerate gently and make sure to keep your engine’s RPMs under 3000.
It is important to note that many municipalities across Canada have anti-idling bylaws. Breaking them can result in fines. For instance, the City of Calgary has the Community Standards Bylaw which ‘prohibits trucks in residential areas from idling longer than 20 minutes, or within 150 meters of a residential development.’
Excessive idling lowers your fuel economy, and it can cause engine damage by way of soot buildup and spark plug damage – decreasing your engine’s efficiency overtime. Excessive idling also leads to increased GHG emissions (e.g., CO2, VOCs, CO, and NOx) and lowered air quality! Natural Resources Canada reports that for every liter of gasoline used, roughly 2.3 kg of CO2 is produced! In general, if you are to be stopped for more than 60 seconds, turn the engine off instead of idling. Also, keep in mind that remote starting technologies can unintentionally encourage excessive idling. An easy way to be mindful of your idling time is to set a timer!
Cooling your vehicle down
It’s important to keep in mind that most internal combustion engine vehicles’ air conditioners use engine power, thus, using your vehicle’s air conditioner increases fuel consumption. The impact that AC has on your vehicle’s fuel economy ranges between 5 – 25%. This variability is due to your driving context (e.g., city driving, stop-and-go traffic, and highway driving), the size of your car, the ambient temperature, and the size of your car engine.
To minimize the impact of air conditioning on your fuel economy, whenever possible, keep the ambient temperature of your car low to begin with, by parking in garages or in the shade, or by using sunshades. If a car has been heated in the sun, it is beneficial to open the windows briefly to vent out the hot air, before running AC.
When driving at low speeds, typically city driving, it’s typically more efficient to have your windows down, then it is to use AC. For highway driving, opt to use AC instead of putting your windows down, and use re-circulate options to improve efficiency. Review your vehicle owner’s manual for AC specifications, as some vehicles have Eco ACs (ECONs) or Eco-Modes that can contribute to fuel efficiency as well.
Driving Techniques
To increase your fuel efficiency, you can focus on gentle acceleration, consistent speeds, and coasting to decelerate.
Aggressive and hard acceleration can cause you to use up to 15% more fuel and is hard on your vehicle. To avoid this, focus on smooth acceleration. Natural Resources Canada suggests 5 seconds per 20 km/h from a stop.
Maintaining consistent speed not only improves your fuel economy but also promotes safer driving practices! Anticipating traffic and keeping safe distances between vehicles allows you to maintain a more consistent speed, as well as more gentle braking practices. When your driving situation permits, using cruise control can be a great way to maintain your speed. Avoiding high speeds also allows you to save on fuel, as most vehicles are most efficient between 50 and 80 km/h. So, keep to the speed limits!
Just like accelerating, it’s important to gently break as well. A great way to achieve this is to take into account traffic conditions and to coast instead of applying the brake pedal.
Manual Driver Considerations
When driving a manual vehicle, use your tachometer to tell you when to change gears. The higher the RPMs, the higher the fuel consumption!
Car Specifics
Before driving, empty out your vehicle of anything non-essential for your trip – this can include removing roof or bicycle racks. Not only is this a great way to reduce chances of theft, but you can reduce your fuel consumption too! Natural Resources Canada estimates that for a mid-size internal combustion engine car, fuel consumption increases by 1% for every 25 kg of weight it carries. And aerodynamic drag from roof racks and bike racks can increase fuel consumption by up to 20% for highway driving.
Driving with underinflated tires creates safety risks (such as loss of control, and increased risks of blowouts), reduces tire lifetime, and increases fuel consumption. For instance, driving on underinflated tires by 8 psi can reduce the lifetime of your tires by 10,000 km and increase fuel consumption by up to 4%. Thus, it’s important to monitor your tire pressure, especially as your tire pressure will fluctuate with temperature changes. Consider setting up a schedule for testing your tire pressure (e.g., once per month).
Eco-driving allows you to easily incorporate fuel-efficient driving techniques and behaviors into your everyday routine. Not only can you make your money and vehicle go further, but you can contribute to cleaner air for you and your community by reducing GHG emissions and air pollution. An essential part to eco-driving is increasing your mindfulness regarding your fuel consumption, so try setting fuel-reduction goals for yourself and incorporate a couple of these eco-driving tips to see how they work for you!
References:
Bylaws related to idling and reduction signs
Should You Warm Up Your Car in Cold Weather? – Engineer Fix
How Long Should You Warm Up Your Car in Winter in Canada?
AutoSmart driver training – Natural Resources Canada
Fuel-efficient driving techniques – Natural Resources Canada
Learn the facts: Air conditioning
