Hypermiling Techniques Solar Power Energy Generation Guide
Hypermiling Techniques To Improve Fuel Economy
By James J Dixon
During World War II, people had to ration gas. In the
midst of the 1970s fuel crisis, Reader’s Digest published
a consumer’s guide to conserving fuel and getting better
gasoline mileage.
Today, many of these same strategies are the basis
for hypermiling techniques that drivers use to review
their options and improve their miles per gallon. Drivers
report that these savings correlate to hundreds, or
even thousands, of dollars in savings. As a bonus, they
have to visit the gas station less often and find that
they’re less tense behind the wheel too!
Hypermiling tips and techniques may include methods
of cooling the car more efficiently, since air conditioning
uses a considerable amount of gas. In the summer, Florida
hypermiler Alison McKellar recommends conserving fuel
by running the car with the windows closed without AC.
Managing The Cool Air Inside Your Car During Summer
If it’s 70 degrees, she may crack her driver’s side
window to create some negative pressure and draw in
cool air through her vent fans. If it’s 75-80, she’ll
crack the rear passenger window to create a cross-breeze
and use vent fans.
If it’s a real scorcher out there, she’ll turn on the
vents, open her driver and passenger car windows, then
open her rear windows to let the hot air escape, and
she’ll close the windows so the AC is cold right away.
She can then use the recirculation button to move the
cooler air around the car. When she accelerates, she
always makes sure the AC is switched off.
Reducing Gas In The Winter Time
Hypermiling techniques for the winter include methods
of warming the car up. Having a cold engine reduces
fuel efficiency, so hypermilers recommend using Office
Depot’s silver-colored cardboard covering the radiator
to block the wind, retain heat and keep the engine running
at warmer temperatures.
"I’ll take off the piece of cardboard if I know
that I’ll be driving a long distance, say 100 miles,"
says driver Chuck Thomas, "but it’s fine for my
daily commute." According to www.hypermiler.co.uk,
other winter hypermiling strategies may include: reducing
idling, covering windshields overnight to ensure an
ice-free morning, parking in the sun (to de-ice naturally)
and clearing all the snow off your car to reduce drag.
Pulse And Glide To Improve Fuel Economy
Once you become a pro, there are some more advanced
hypermiling techniques you may employ. "Pulse and
Glide" is a tactic used by Prius owner James Cullen.
When he’s driving, he’ll "pulse" -- or accelerate
up to 40 MPG -- then he will ease back on the accelerator,
allowing the car to "glide" back to 30, at
which point he’ll repeat the process again.
This hypermiling tip improves fuel economy by minimizing
use of the internal combustion engine. This trick is
much easier for hybrid owners, since it has a built-in
feature that instructs drivers how to do this safely.
Non-hybrid drivers sometimes turn their engines off
while going down hills, which can be dangerous because
it disables the power steering capability.
Another trick called "auto-stop" involves
putting the vehicle’s transmission into neutral, switching
the engine off and coasting to a stop. Again, vehicle
control may be compromised, so hypermiling coasting
is generally not recommended.
About the Author:
James J Dixon has written a number of articles on Hypermiling and Recycling including
Hypermiling Hybrid,
Hypermiling To Save Gas,
Hypermiling Your Car,
Waste Water,
Disposal Of Plastics.
Look out for new articles as they become available on this site.
Little Known Electric Car Facts.....
How does an electric car affect the environment?
The first thing that needs to be
addressed is that electric cars, depending on how the
fuel cells are created, are not entirely environmentally
friendly. Yes, they do not use gasoline and do not give
off any emissions but some models do have power grids
that use coal.
There are models of power grids
that are being developed that do away with the use of
coal. Even with using coal for the power grids, electric
cars are a vast, vast improvement over gasoline vehicles
and as a result are much better for the environment.
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