Thumbs up to all of you who made the ‘Fuel conservation Event ‘successful. I was having a look at the photos and saw the beautiful posters and slogans designed by you guys, and I must say you all are highly creative. Suddenly it crossed my mind that at an individual level, what else can I do to save energy? I did a self analysis and found that I generally switch off the engine at signals and also avoid long idles. Then I asked few of my friends and found that many of us know these few tips and we often try to implement them, but there are few other ways as well which can help in fuel conservation. I browsed through net and found few articles on fuel conservation and tips to save energy. Just sharing that with you all guys as I think these tips can be followed by us in our daily travel.
Avoid High Speeds: I guess most of us would have made that needle cross the 100 km/hr mark on our speedometer, especially when driving on highways, and it may also have helped us to reach our destination before time. But let me tell you a fact that as your speed increases, your aerodynamic drag increases in an exponential fashion. Driving at 100 km/h vs 120 km/hr will reduce fuel consumption by about 15%.
Keep Windows Closed : As we don’t follow the norm of ‘DRIVE SLOW’ on highways, we should at least follow a small tip of not keeping windows open, as that increases drag and results in decreased fuel economy of up to 10%. Also maintaining a constant speed over long distances often saves fuel.
Do Not Accelerate or Brake Hard: I have seen many bikers just pressing the accelerator in full swing as soon as the signal gets green and then applying hard brakes as they are stuck in traffic. Please avoid rapid accelerating. Relax your driving style and when you use the accelerator, use it gently. By anticipating the traffic and applying slow steady acceleration and braking, fuel economy may increase by as much as 20%.
Avoid Heavy Loads: Now this doesn’t mean that you keep enquiring about the weight of whoever sits in your car or throw someone out of your car as soon as you feel it is overloaded.:) Like if you are not using your roof-racks, take them off! They add to drag. Unnecessary weight in your car can also take away from good fuel mileage.
Avoid Long Idles: Most cars nowadays no longer need to warm up to run. If you are waiting for someone or stopped at a signal, for more than 1 minute, shut off the car. Restarting the car uses less fuel than letting it idle for this time.
Few more things which I follow before I even get on the road as that helps in great fuel conservation.
Service Vehicle Regularly: Proper maintenance avoids poor fuel economy related to dirty air filters, old spark plugs or low fluid levels. This should be strictly followed for the bikes which are parked outside the D hostel. :)
Keep Tyres Properly Inflated: Check tyre pressure regularly, keep them aligned and inflated properly because having tyres with low pressure can increase the use of fuel by 5%.
Hope these tips would be helpful to everyone, although you can always search for more about this. More awareness about such facts would result in more fuel conservation. Thanx All!
Chhavi Raina
SCIT-SSR
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