Hypermiling

The future, it's electric!

2009-04-17T17:24:00.004+01:00

There has been a lot in the UK news about electric vehicles this week. Motorists are to be given grants to trade in their existing vehicles for greener models. £5000 will offered to people buying electric or hybrid vehicles.

However, there is a worry that not enough is being done to build infrastructure for motorists to recharge their vehicles away from home.

BBC - Plan to boost electric car sales

BBC - The future of electric motoring

BBC - Hoon's Electric Vision: How Green?

Guardian - Motorists to receive government grants for electric cars

Guardian - Labour's £5,000 sweetener to launch electric car revolution

Guardian - Tesla's Elon Musk: the democratisation of electric cars is speeding up

100,000 electric cars for London

2009-04-14T18:54:00.003+01:00

Boris Johnson, mayor of London, has announced that electric cars are to be a priority for London's streets. Plans include 25,000 charging points with all new buildings and 20% of all parking spaces to have charging points.

Guardian - London mayor – 100,000 electric cars for capital

Tesla unveils the Model S family car

2009-04-10T12:38:00.005+01:00

Tesla Motors is now attempting to enter the mainstream motor industry with its Model S, a four-door family vehicle with capacity for seven people.

The vehicle will have a range of 300 miles (483km) on a single charge and is expected to sell for $50,000 after a $7500 government rebate for those who buy electric vehicles.

Charging the 8000 cell power pack takes four hours and costs $5 at today's utility prices. Owners can expect to save $15,000 in petrol/gasoline prices over the lifetime of the vehicle.

Within a week of the announcement, Tesla had received over 500 advance orders despite not having yet received government assistance to build the factory that will manufacture the vehicle. The vehicle will reach the streets in 2011.

Website - Tesla Motors

Tata Nano

2009-03-23T19:28:00.003Z

The world's cheapest car, the Nano, has been unveiled. Priced at 100,000 rupees (£1350), the Nano is now being eyed by cost conscious westerners. In two years Tata Motors hopes to be selling in the west. However, the car will have to be modified for overseas sales as the model for sale in India has no air bags.

The car is also billed as being green with a 624cc rear engine at the rear, delivering 23.6 km/l, 67 mpg (UK) or 56 mpg (US), and has a CO2 emissions rating of 101 g/km (grams of carbon dioxide per kilometre driven).

New electric car goes like the wind

2009-03-15T15:21:00.002Z

A team of ex-motor industry employees have banded together and built an electric car from an old Lotus Exige that will run solely on wind power.

Guardian - Britain's pioneering electric supercar: powered by wind

Fuel from seaweed

2008-12-17T18:45:00.003Z

Before the global economic slowdown caused a collapse in the price of oil there was much consternation over the effect bio-fuels were having on the price of food. With oil at a record high, many farmers were cashing in with fuel crops. This led to less food for human consumption and food price inflation.

Eventually, the recession will end and demand for oil will increase. The price of oil will rise and farmers will start growing bio-fuel crops again.

Now, scientists in Scotland and Ireland have won funding for a project to create "mari-fuels" from seaweed. This will mean there is no pressure on farmland and there will be food price stability. Seaweed is fast growing and carbon neutral.

Guardian - Kelp-fuel cars on the horizon in Scotland

San Francisco to be electric car capital

2008-11-26T11:52:00.004Z

Ambitious plans in San Francisco set to make the city the electric car capital of the world. The Bay Area will be the first region in California to make a concerted change from fossil to renewable energy fuels for its transport systems.

In California, vehicles account for 40% of carbon emissions so the attempt to wean the state's transportation off fossil fuels will make a huge difference for the health of the state.

$1 billion will be invested to set up roadside recharging points across the Bay Area to accommodate the rise in electric vehicle ownership.

Guardian - San Francisco Bay to be electric car capital

Guardian - California switches on to an electric future

Hypermiling is not easy but it is necessary

2008-11-20T13:18:00.003Z

Patrick Barkham gave hypermiling a try in a 2-litre diesel Ford S-Max. After almost 8 miles of city driving, hill starts, mountain tracks and motorways, he could only manage 24mpg.

His errors included attempting to coast his neutral gear. Not only does coasting in neutral use more fuel than costing in gear, it is also dangerous. He also accelerated too hard and applied the brakes erratically. The key to hypermiling is smooth driving and in that Patrick failed miserably.

Guardian - 'If it was possible to fail - I failed'

Increasing usage of car clubs

2008-11-02T13:36:00.002Z

The recent high fuel prices have forced many to look to car clubs for transportation. A car club allows a person to drive on a pay-as-you-go basis, this obviating the need to own a vehicle.

Even though fuel prices have fallen in line with the fall in oil prices, the credit crunch still makes it hard for people to make ends meet. Joining a car club instead of owning a car reduces the cost of ownership for the cash strapped motorist.

Guardian - Cash-strapped motorists turn to car sharing

£100 million boost for electric vehicles

2008-10-31T19:29:00.002Z

The UK government is planning to invest in electric public service vehicles for the post office, police and government departments to speed up the introduction of low-emission vehicles on Britain's roads.

Some 22% of Britain's carbon emissions comes from transport and the hope is to produce vehicles that emit less than 50g CO2/km.

Guardian - £100m road to electric motoring ... police, post office and politicians step off the gas

Tesla in trouble

2008-10-17T12:47:00.002+01:00

Tesla Motors, maker of the 125mph, electric roadster has hit financial problems. The company is currently losing money and is about to reduce their workforce to save costs. The credit crunch is making the financing of their next vehicle, an electric saloon car, problematic.

Guardian - Electric car manufacturer hit by financial crisis

UK petrol price below £1 a litre for first time in over a year

2008-10-16T22:53:00.003+01:00

Not since December 2007 has the price of petrol been this low. Since the credit crunch plunged the world into recession the price of oil has halved from near $150 per barrel to less than $75 per barrel.

With economies in decline there will be less need for oil and so the price has dropped. Drivers are now seeing a fall in fuel prices.

However, this will only be temporary. The economic recession will end and demand for oil will push the price to a new record.

BBC - Retailers push petrol to below £1

MPG marathon

2008-10-16T22:48:00.002+01:00

A four hundred mile race was held on British roads. The winner was not the fastest, nor the first to arrive at the finish line.

The race was to find the most efficient driver, who could drive the most miles per gallon in their car.

The winner was expected to drive over 80mpg in an ordinary factory built car.

BBC - The race to save fuel

Bio-diesel breakthrough

2008-10-01T11:56:00.003+01:00

One criticism of bio-fuels is that their production takes up farmland that would be used to grow food. This has caused massive food price rises and caused many around the world to starve.

BP (British Petroleum) has developed bio-diesel from jatropha plants. These plants grow on marginal land that is not suited to food crops and thus does not compete against food production.

Guardian - Biodiesel breakthrough comes at £13m cost to BP-backed firm

When is a hybrid not a hybrid?

2008-09-22T16:22:00.003+01:00

When it is driven incorrectly.

I was driving along the motorway, yesterday. As usual I was hypermiling on the slow lane at 55-60 mph.

My eyes were concentrating on remaining 2 seconds behind the vehicle ahead so I could take my foot off the accelerator if the vehicle in front slowed. I was also concentrating on keeping the engine revving at 4000 rpm, my vehicle's optimum rpm for that gear, speed and most efficient consumption of fuel.

In the middle lane a car flew past at 80 mph. A Toyota Prius hybrid. Obviously the owner of that vehicle is not making the savings he thinks he is. Firstly, the price of the vehicle. If your current vehicle (no matter what the make) is fine to drive then continue to do so until it falls apart. Secondly, driving any car at 80 mph isn't going to be the most efficient use of the vehicle's engine.

Top Gear is a motoring television programme in the UK. A few weeks ago the programme compared a sporty Mercedes coupé with a Prius hybrid. Both cars were sent around a track and the drivers told to do it as fast as they could. The fuel consumption for the Mercedes was poor but the Prius was worse.

Any car has to be driven properly to make the most efficient use of its engine. If hypermiled, the Mercedes would have produced better fuel consumption. The Prius would have beaten the Mercedes if it had been driven properly too.

There is no point in owning a high mileage car if you don't drive it properly. Learn to hypermile.

EcoDrving USA

2008-09-12T08:26:00.001+01:00

Save money on driving and save the planet from carbon emissions by paying a visit to EcoDriving USA.

Composting for biofuel

2008-09-11T23:19:00.002+01:00

Scientists have discovered a bacteria in compost heaps that can produce ethanol, rather than lactic acid, as it breaks down organic matter. Seven million tonnes of surplus straw could produce 10% of UK vehicle fuel.

Daily Telegraph - Compost heaps could produce biofuel

How good at hypermiling are you?

2008-09-10T08:41:00.003+01:00

The UK driving test now includes skills for improving fuel mileage. Examiners will now inform student drivers as to how efficient they are at driving in addition to their road skills.

You won't fail your test for sudden acceleration and braking but you will certainly be informed as to how you can improve.

Guardian - How good an eco-driver are you? Regulator's tips on careful motoring may save £500 a year

A commercial hydrogen injector

2008-08-21T21:49:00.003+01:00

A Japanese company has developed a system that retrofits to existing vehicles and improves fuel efficiency by 30% whilst reducing CO2 emissions by 30%.

The system uses waste heat generated by a vehicle's engine to convert an easily transportable liquid organic hydride (a hydrogen-storing chemical) into a gaseous state. this hydrogen is then fed into the air-intake of the engine.

Many amateurs have built hydrogen generators using electrolysis or the chemical reaction with lye and aluminium. This new system offers a safer commercial method for transporting hydrogen in a vehicle.

Guardian - Cars with a green conscience

Can a petrol-head be an eco-driver?

2008-08-11T14:18:00.003+01:00

With the price of fuel getting higher, even petrol-heads are trying hypermiling techniques.

By adopting less aggressive driving tactics, and keeping your vehicle well-maintained, you can begin to save money on fuel today. There is no need to buy a new vehicle, even the one you have is capable of getting more miles per gallon.

Read more...

Oil 'could hit $200 within years'

2008-08-09T00:24:00.002+01:00

Oil maybe dropping in price at the moment but it could well start rising again and reach $200 per barrel.

Peak oil is the point at which oil production cannot be increased and is due to the fact that we have used up all the cheap oil. In the future, what oil remains will be hard to get and more expensive.

Higher oil prices will mean higher prices for vehicle fuels. New research may bring us new fuels. Until we will all have to learn how to hypermile.

Read more...

Congestion charge failing to cure London gridlock

2008-08-07T01:03:00.003+01:00

London's traffic congestion is now as bad as before the congestion charge was introduced in 2002.

Although 70,000 fewer vehicles enter the area, there is less road than in 2002 so congestion is on the increase.

Read more...

Green pond algae 'could be made into biofuel'

2008-08-04T21:48:00.002+01:00

Saphire Energy, a US company, has claimed that it can make 'green crude oil' from pond algae. In so doing they claim to avoid the 'fuel versus food' argument that is raging because grain and vegetable oil crops are being diverted to fuel producers.

Read more...

A cheaper way of making hydrogen?

2008-08-02T14:14:00.004+01:00

Scientists have developed a new technique to produce hydrogen from water. The process copies photosynthesis in plants and provides an efficient way to store energy.

A catalyst made from cobalt and phosphorus is used to split water at room temperature with the aid of electricity generated from solar cells. At night, when the sun is down, stored hydrogen can produce electricity using a fuel cell or an internal combustion engine coupled to a generator.

At present solar cells only produce electricity during the day and store electricity for the night in expensive batteries. The new catalytic system would allow users to to power their homes and vehicles 24 hours a day.

Read more...

What is going to power our cars?

2008-08-01T23:15:00.003+01:00

With oil in decline the race is on to find the next commodity that will permit us to continue driving. For electric vehicles that commodity is lithium and will be needed in great quantities to make the batteries that will power us down the road.

The Tesla Roadster uses 6000 lithium ion cells to produce its high-end performance but will the estimated global reserve of between 14 and 28 million tonnes of lithium be enough?

Read more...