35 replies to this topic

[conor]

Hi There,

Today, i posted a guest publication on Simple Ways to Go Greener In Everyday Life here: http://thegreenfamil...energy-scotland and i explain some simple tips we can use in our daily life to go greener.

I want to discuss with you here, how many of you really agree with those points.

Also, i want to know some other ways as well. Please suggest, your new ideas will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

[Besoeker]

conor, on 28 February 2014 - 01:55 AM, said:

Hi There,

Today, i posted a guest publication on Simple Ways to Go Greener In Everyday Life here: http://thegreenfamil...energy-scotland and i explain some simple tips we can use in our daily life to go greener.

I want to discuss with you here, how many of you really agree with those points.

Also, i want to know some other ways as well. Please suggest, your new ideas will be very much appreciated.

Thanks

Another Scotsman?

I mostly agree except not quite on this:

"One of the easiest ways of maximizing fuel efficiency is to keep your tires properly inflated. "

I think driving style can have a huge effect of car fuel consumption. Modern cars are generally more fuel efficient now than they were a couple of decades. I routinely get better than 60mpg and sometimes 70mpg. It varies quite markedly with speed.

The power required to propel a car depends on three main factors. Rolling resistance (tyres) friction, and aerodynamic losses. This last factor is often the largest and goes up cube law with speed. So 10% faster requires 30% more power for that component. Conversely, drop your speed by 10% and you need 30% less power and fuel consumption improves.

So yes, I agree that tyre pressures are important, I would also suggest that keeping the speed down is an important factor. I find that the best I get is around 60mph in 6th gear.

[Besoeker]

I particularly liked your point about leaving your car at home.
I and my wife work together. We have about a 50 mile round trip to the office. But we choose to work from home most days because we can. We're at home - the car is at home.

[conor]

Besoeker, on 28 February 2014 - 07:03 AM, said:

Another Scotsman?

I mostly agree except not quite on this:

"One of the easiest ways of maximizing fuel efficiency is to keep your tires properly inflated. "

I think driving style can have a huge effect of car fuel consumption. Modern cars are generally more fuel efficient now than they were a couple of decades. I routinely get better than 60mpg and sometimes 70mpg. It varies quite markedly with speed.

The power required to propel a car depends on three main factors. Rolling resistance (tyres) friction, and aerodynamic losses. This last factor is often the largest and goes up cube law with speed. So 10% faster requires 30% more power for that component. Conversely, drop your speed by 10% and you need 30% less power and fuel consumption improves.

So yes, I agree that tyre pressures are important, I would also suggest that keeping the speed down is an important factor. I find that the best I get is around 60mph in 6th gear.

Yes, another Scotsman:)

Sorry just get back. It is something strange to me. Keeping your tires properly inflated always maximizing fuel efficiency. Tires which are properly inflated put less pressure on the engine of any vehicle. If your tires are not properly then it put load on engine that result into more use of fuels automatically.

[conor]

Besoeker, on 28 February 2014 - 07:08 AM, said:

I particularly liked your point about leaving your car at home.
I and my wife work together. We have about a 50 mile round trip to the office. But we choose to work from home most days because we can. We're at home - the car is at home.

Thanks, yes leaving car at home is a big plus point in greening. Thanks you do this. One more thing can be done here to if you are friends and work in similar organization then go in a single car instead of going in different  one.

[conor]

What you think about "Eat less meat". It is also interesting. Do you think people will eat less meat to go greener?

[Shortpoet-GTD]

conor, on 05 March 2014 - 02:02 AM, said:

What you think about "Eat less meat". It is also interesting. Do you think people will eat less meat to go greener?

It's one of the reasons, and certainly valid. People reduce or eliminate their meat intake for moral, religious
and/or health issues and reducing emissions from cattle is to be considered also.
Because of the drought, and skyrocketing prices on beef and pork, budgets are also part of the consideration.

[conor]

Shortpoet-GTD, on 05 March 2014 - 05:57 AM, said:

It's one of the reasons, and certainly valid. People reduce or eliminate their meat intake for moral, religious
and/or health issues and reducing emissions from cattle is to be considered also.
Because of the dro
ught, and skyrocketing prices on beef and pork, budgets are also part of the consideration.

Yes, i agree with you these things really play a key role religious, budget, moral and etc.

[Besoeker]

conor, on 05 March 2014 - 01:55 AM, said:

Yes, another Scotsman:)

I grew up near Kirriemuir which is about 20 miles north of Dundee.

conor, on 05 March 2014 - 01:55 AM, said:

Sorry just get back. It is something strange to me. Keeping your tires properly inflated always maximizing fuel efficiency. Tires which are properly inflated put less pressure on the engine of any vehicle. If your tires are not properly then it put load on engine that result into more use of fuels automatically.

I'm not at all disputing that correctly inflated tyres improve fuel consumption. It reduces rolling resistance. Rolling resistance is usually a significantly smaller part of total resistance than aerodynamic resistance. That's why driving style, particularly keeping speed down makes a big difference to fuel consumption.

Of course you should do both. Keep tyres correctly inflated and pay attention to driving techniques.

[conor]

Besoeker, on 05 March 2014 - 06:52 AM, said:

I grew up near Kirriemuir which is about 20 miles north of Dundee.


I'm not at all disputing that correctly inflated tyres improve fuel consumption. It reduces rolling resistance. Rolling resistance is usually a significantly smaller part of total resistance than aerodynamic resistance. That's why driving style, particularly keeping speed down makes a big difference to fuel consumption.

Of course you should do both. Keep tyres correctly inflated and pay attention to driving techniques.

Great to hear you.  Yes, both should be use simultaneously either it is correctly inflated tyres or attention to driving techniques.

[Besoeker]

Frugal with the motion lotion.....

[conor]

Thanks for the amazing graphical picture
Frugal with the motion lotion.....  :)

[Besoeker]

conor, on 05 March 2014 - 01:58 AM, said:

Thanks, yes leaving car at home is a big plus point in greening. Thanks you do this. One more thing can be done here to if you are friends and work in similar organization then go in a single car instead of going in different  one.

Where practicable, we do that.
Today, Mrs B and I did the trip to the office. We had a third party quality audit being conducted.and she had to be there.
Two of us in one car.
I had other business in London* so I and a colleague left the office, again two of us in one car.
*Yes, that leg could have been done mostly by public transport but not easily given the locations.

Much of our business requires travel and, when we can, we will meet, one of us park, and then both proceed in one vehicle.

We try. It's greener and makes economical sense.

[conor]

Besoeker, on 06 March 2014 - 01:25 PM, said:

Where practicable, we do that.
Today, Mrs B and I did the trip to the office. We had a third party quality audit being conducted.and she had to be there.
Two of us in one car.
I had other business in London* so I and a colleague left the office, again two of us in one car.
*Yes, that leg could have been done mostly by public transport but not easily given the locations.

Much of our business requires travel and, when we can, we will meet, one of us park, and then both proceed in one vehicle.

We try. It's greener and makes economical sense.

I appricate your traveliing sense towrds more greener and economical sence. Everyone should learn from here.

[Besoeker]

conor, on 05 March 2014 - 08:44 PM, said:

Thanks for the amazing graphical picture
Frugal with the motion lotion.....  :)

Yes, I suppose it is quite amazing.
From a good sized five seat four door saloon with all the toys you could think of. Then some.

Amazing the technology that cars have these days.
We were driving back from Scotland a couple of weeks ago. Mrs B and I.
Via Cockermouth in Cumbria. Bit of a dog leg that adds lots of miles to the journey.
We decided that we'd had enough driving and would stop overnight on the way back.

Click a button on the steering wheel and talk to the system.
"Find nearest hotel."
It did. And provided the phone number.
"Do you want to call this number?"
Press the button.
"Yes."
It did via the hands free (HFT).
So a hotel was found, booked, paid for, and the satnav automatically set the route.
All whilst still travelling.

I know that voice recognition technology has developed well but I still find it mind blowing that it can be used so effectively. It's a useful tool for me as the above example demonstrates. And there a good many other nice to have features which I use sometimes - apart from the HFT which I use a lot.

But the primary reason I picked the car was the fuel economy. Hybrids don't do better on long distances and EVs don't do long distances.

[conor]

Hehehe, it was so easy for you and Mrs B. I beilave you guys enjoy a lot. Yes voice recognisation systtem is more advcnae nowadays. Even you might know Google also using voice recognisation sytems and they are working on it to make more advcnace. We just want to speak in front of Google insted of typing and we will gain our results.

[Besoeker]

Another, perhaps seemingly overlooked driving tip.
If you are stopped at traffic lights, don't sit with your foot on the brake pedal. Set the parking brake and select neutral. That way the brake lights don't stay on. At 21W each, that's a 42W saving.

And less annoying for the driver behind you.

[Shortpoet-GTD]

Better yet, take a bicycle (where you have installed 387 lbs of led lights, so car drivers can see you)

Or perhaps something like this when driving at night.


 bike light.jpg   10.65K   0 downloads

[conor]

What if you just stop your car If you are stopped at traffic lights. Save Energy, Save Money

[Shortpoet-GTD]

conor, on 07 March 2014 - 10:25 PM, said:

What if you just stop your car If you are stopped at traffic lights. Save Energy, Save Money

Ok, let's get back to simple ways to go green everyday; shall we?