If you have more than a few people (especially children) in a car, having the windows up on a long hot drive isn’t really an option, unless you are all Very stoic (and/or have a tranq gun). At freeway speeds, using the A/C usually consumes less fuel than having the windows down. (link to page which pulls data from Society of Automotive Engineers http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/windows_up_or_d_1.php)
I have found that there is nothing really special about taking care of our environment. We live in it, we might as well take care of it. Simply being conscious of how you use the environment is a big step to being more green.
Thanks
Megok on
December 19, 2007 7:34 am
6. Don’t idle the engine: A modern car is designed to work efficiently as soon as it starts, so you don’t need to start the engine and let it warm up before you drive. Not even on cold winter mornings.
I guess you have never driven a car while it is
Sandra on
December 19, 2007 8:08 am
8. Turn off air con.
10. Drive with the windows up.
Are you from Iceland? You know people DIE that way.
#15 is incorrect for most cars made >1995 or so. They are tuned for 87 octane and if you put premium in it you’re blowing a lot of unused gas out your exhaust pipe.
Your easiest way for #15 is change oil at least every 5000 miles, and make sure your tuneup schedule is followed. Premium fuel is a waste.
[…] Traveling for your daily commute can be damaging to the environement if you drive a car, so why not bike, take transit, or just carpool? Ideas like this can make a world of difference when done en masse. Fortunately someone has gone and made a list of 31 green travel tips to ensure that we do less damage from our travels. […]
Some Guy on
December 19, 2007 10:46 am
#15 is mostly wrong. It totally depends on the engine in your car. My friends 1985 GTI (22 years old) required premium fuel, but would run on regular. Cars that require it, and don’t have it will retard the spark advance (so they won’t ping on lower octane fuel) and run less efficiently. They will get better MPG with premium. Cars that just need regular, won’t see any difference because their engine isn’t high enough compression to need premium. You’ll just be wasting money.
It’s not about turning off air conditioning. Fuel consumption is the same with air conditioning on or off in any sized engine. Why? Serpintine belts. The belt goes to the air compressor and spins it whether it is in use or not. The compressor itself has a magnetic clutch that engages when it is turned on whicch causes the internals to rotate. But regardless the pulley is driven off the serpintine belt and never disingages.
Having said that it is correct that driving with windows up will streamline thw car and thus lower fuel consumption. Engineers design cars with reduction in drag coefficient in mind. This is done with the windows closed (causing less drag) and fuel economy in mind. (Yes there are other reasons too but for this argument fuel economy is the key).
Anyway just thought I would share that info. Be comfortable – you’ve already paid for having the air conditioner in the car and in the name of less belts on pulleys you are powering the compressor anyway regardless.
Commenter #12: While you are correct that the mere existence of an AC unit causes constant drag on the engine in every car that is equipped with one, but when the clutch engages and it begins compressing the coolant, there is even more drag placed on the motor.
Anybody who has ever been driving steadily then turned on the AC to notice a dip in performance has felt that effect. As a result, you must use more fuel to achieve the same performance and to maintain your speed.
As for the article:
Charging electronics does not increase the load on your car’s engine. The alternator is a simple generator that produces DC in your vehicle. It does not increase drag on the engine when a greater electrical load is placed on it.
sleepydog on
December 19, 2007 10:46 pm
I’m surprised that checking the tire pressure was not mentioned to improve auto fuel efficiency.
Here’s a quick list from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml
Tire pressure benefit – up to 3%
Clean Air Filters Benefit – uo to 10%
Proper Motor Oil benefit – up to 2%
Tune up benefit – up tp 3%
I’m surprised that checking the tire pressure was not mentioned to improve auto fuel efficiency.
Here’s a quick list from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml
Tire pressure benefit – up to 3%
Clean Air Filters Benefit – uo to 10%
Proper Motor Oil benefit – up to 2%
Tune up benefit – up tp 3%
[…] I found a pretty good article with 31 tips on how to Save money and the environment by traveling green.  Some of the tips are fairly commonplace but I thought were a few gems that could really be useful.  If you are a geek like me, or have a busy schedule, consider adding some of these to your outlook or google calendars to reminders.  For example, if you have a ski rack add a re-occuring reminder each Spring to remove it since you won’t be using it over the summer months. Perhaps add a reminder to every three months to change your oil, or check tire pressure. That way you don’t have to remember. […]
Excellent post and very comprehensive and useful list of tips. Just some more info about eco-friendly travel, electric vehicles. Take a look at http://www.zapworld.com who have a whole range of scooters, bikes, cars, trucks. There is something for every requirement!
This is a great article! Additional information on slowing climate change and doing good for the environment (and people’s wallets!) by being aware and mindful about improving a computer’s power delivery and reducing energy consumed when it’s in an inactive state can be found at http://climatesaverscomputing.com/.
There is another newer way to save money on Gas and to help cut back on the dangerous carbon and other poisions that cars put into the atmosphere…It’s only been out a year, but has proved itself time and again. It’s called Ultimate ME2 (squared).
What is it? It’s a gas like substance that you put an ounce of into your gas tank when you fill up your car or truck (reg gas or diesel) It breaks down the gas so it burns more efficiently, and you can use the lower grade gas, and save money there too. After 4 tanks or so are run thru the vehicle, you should start seeing increases in mileage. My car, which is slightly older ’89, went from 26.5 miles to the gallon to 28/33 for city/highway mileage…that’s a fair size increase! You should check out the website, they give you lots of info. and you can order it right there online. They even provide the tests that were done on it by the independent testing facilities. This is the ONLY ONE that acutually cuts back on the ommissions AND increases the gas mileage…so I’m told.
Great blog on how to travel a little greener. At Spheric we all travel a lot for work and we do our best to leave as few tracks as possible. You can see some of the things we do here.
A great way to save money while traveling is to stop by a grocery store when you arrive at your destination and pick up breakfast and lunch items that are quick and easy.
This way you can at least eat breakfast in your room and save on expensive hotel meals. Then you’re even able to splurge on dinner out with all the money you saved during the day!
Hi! I am a self-confessed geek with an insatiable appetite for gadgets and travel. Currently I own a MacBook Pro, 30GB iPod video and a big credit card balance.
December 18th, 2007 
These are great tips. I think it all boils down to thinking and being thoughtful when we are travelling, and goes for all of this and more.
Showing respect for the environment is a good thing to do.
Disposable cameras are recycled by their respective manufacturers.
Very useful tips! Thank you!
If you have more than a few people (especially children) in a car, having the windows up on a long hot drive isn’t really an option, unless you are all Very stoic (and/or have a tranq gun). At freeway speeds, using the A/C usually consumes less fuel than having the windows down. (link to page which pulls data from Society of Automotive Engineers http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/windows_up_or_d_1.php)
Thanks for the thoughtful article.
I have found that there is nothing really special about taking care of our environment. We live in it, we might as well take care of it. Simply being conscious of how you use the environment is a big step to being more green.
Thanks
6. Don’t idle the engine: A modern car is designed to work efficiently as soon as it starts, so you don’t need to start the engine and let it warm up before you drive. Not even on cold winter mornings.
I guess you have never driven a car while it is
8. Turn off air con.
10. Drive with the windows up.
Are you from Iceland? You know people DIE that way.
#15 is incorrect for most cars made >1995 or so. They are tuned for 87 octane and if you put premium in it you’re blowing a lot of unused gas out your exhaust pipe.
Your easiest way for #15 is change oil at least every 5000 miles, and make sure your tuneup schedule is followed. Premium fuel is a waste.
[…] Traveling for your daily commute can be damaging to the environement if you drive a car, so why not bike, take transit, or just carpool? Ideas like this can make a world of difference when done en masse. Fortunately someone has gone and made a list of 31 green travel tips to ensure that we do less damage from our travels. […]
#15 is mostly wrong. It totally depends on the engine in your car. My friends 1985 GTI (22 years old) required premium fuel, but would run on regular. Cars that require it, and don’t have it will retard the spark advance (so they won’t ping on lower octane fuel) and run less efficiently. They will get better MPG with premium. Cars that just need regular, won’t see any difference because their engine isn’t high enough compression to need premium. You’ll just be wasting money.
If you are looking for additional tips on ways to save energy and reduce your impact on the planet, you can download a free ‘green home checklist’ by visiting: http://www.countrywide-homeequity.com/free-resources.php#
It’s not about turning off air conditioning. Fuel consumption is the same with air conditioning on or off in any sized engine. Why? Serpintine belts. The belt goes to the air compressor and spins it whether it is in use or not. The compressor itself has a magnetic clutch that engages when it is turned on whicch causes the internals to rotate. But regardless the pulley is driven off the serpintine belt and never disingages.
Having said that it is correct that driving with windows up will streamline thw car and thus lower fuel consumption. Engineers design cars with reduction in drag coefficient in mind. This is done with the windows closed (causing less drag) and fuel economy in mind. (Yes there are other reasons too but for this argument fuel economy is the key).
Anyway just thought I would share that info. Be comfortable – you’ve already paid for having the air conditioner in the car and in the name of less belts on pulleys you are powering the compressor anyway regardless.
Very informative article, thanks a lot.
Commenter #12: While you are correct that the mere existence of an AC unit causes constant drag on the engine in every car that is equipped with one, but when the clutch engages and it begins compressing the coolant, there is even more drag placed on the motor.
Anybody who has ever been driving steadily then turned on the AC to notice a dip in performance has felt that effect. As a result, you must use more fuel to achieve the same performance and to maintain your speed.
As for the article:
Charging electronics does not increase the load on your car’s engine. The alternator is a simple generator that produces DC in your vehicle. It does not increase drag on the engine when a greater electrical load is placed on it.
I’m surprised that checking the tire pressure was not mentioned to improve auto fuel efficiency.
Here’s a quick list from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml
Tire pressure benefit – up to 3%
Clean Air Filters Benefit – uo to 10%
Proper Motor Oil benefit – up to 2%
Tune up benefit – up tp 3%
[…] VÃa: http://www.geekabout.com […]
[…] VÃa: http://www.geekabout.com […]
I’m surprised that checking the tire pressure was not mentioned to improve auto fuel efficiency.
Here’s a quick list from http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml
Tire pressure benefit – up to 3%
Clean Air Filters Benefit – uo to 10%
Proper Motor Oil benefit – up to 2%
Tune up benefit – up tp 3%
Good point, tire pressure can affect mpg quite a bit. I always check the tires about once every two weeks.
[…] I found a pretty good article with 31 tips on how to Save money and the environment by traveling green.  Some of the tips are fairly commonplace but I thought were a few gems that could really be useful.  If you are a geek like me, or have a busy schedule, consider adding some of these to your outlook or google calendars to reminders.  For example, if you have a ski rack add a re-occuring reminder each Spring to remove it since you won’t be using it over the summer months. Perhaps add a reminder to every three months to change your oil, or check tire pressure. That way you don’t have to remember. […]
[…] VÃa: http://www.geekabout.com […]
Excellent post and very comprehensive and useful list of tips. Just some more info about eco-friendly travel, electric vehicles. Take a look at http://www.zapworld.com who have a whole range of scooters, bikes, cars, trucks. There is something for every requirement!
Love the site. Some of your tips are included in the “Green My Wallet” money saving tips site. Well done!
http://www.greenmywallet.com
I’m sure your readers will want to take a look. Cheers!
This is a great article! Additional information on slowing climate change and doing good for the environment (and people’s wallets!) by being aware and mindful about improving a computer’s power delivery and reducing energy consumed when it’s in an inactive state can be found at http://climatesaverscomputing.com/.
There is another newer way to save money on Gas and to help cut back on the dangerous carbon and other poisions that cars put into the atmosphere…It’s only been out a year, but has proved itself time and again. It’s called Ultimate ME2 (squared).
What is it? It’s a gas like substance that you put an ounce of into your gas tank when you fill up your car or truck (reg gas or diesel) It breaks down the gas so it burns more efficiently, and you can use the lower grade gas, and save money there too. After 4 tanks or so are run thru the vehicle, you should start seeing increases in mileage. My car, which is slightly older ’89, went from 26.5 miles to the gallon to 28/33 for city/highway mileage…that’s a fair size increase! You should check out the website, they give you lots of info. and you can order it right there online. They even provide the tests that were done on it by the independent testing facilities. This is the ONLY ONE that acutually cuts back on the ommissions AND increases the gas mileage…so I’m told.
Great blog on how to travel a little greener. At Spheric we all travel a lot for work and we do our best to leave as few tracks as possible. You can see some of the things we do here.
Good list, would be awesome if everyone was able to respect at least half of it!
Wow, absolutely wonderful tips!
A great way to save money while traveling is to stop by a grocery store when you arrive at your destination and pick up breakfast and lunch items that are quick and easy.
This way you can at least eat breakfast in your room and save on expensive hotel meals. Then you’re even able to splurge on dinner out with all the money you saved during the day!
Thanks,
Jason
[…] Geek About.Com […]
[…] GeekAbout.com’ s 31 Tips to Save Money & Environment […]
Any time you can save money while having fun plus help the planet, it’s a smart way to go.