Fuel Efficiency (UK Petrol Prices)

Name: snowflake5

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Product:	UK Petrol Prices
Date:	07/05/06 (5015 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Save you money (and the planet)

Disadvantages: None

There can be very few people who are unaware that the price of unleaded is now almost £1 per litre. This piece is about the background to oil prices and how you can use fuel more efficiently.


Some Background

The price of a barrel of crude oil is a function of supply and demand. When supply is low, the price rises and when demand is high the price rises. Conversely, when there is too much supply, the price falls, and when they is too little demand, the price also falls. Speculators pile in buying oil when they suspect that either demand will increase or supply will fall, exaggerating the price movements. For instance the price of a barrel of crude dropped to a low of just over $10 per barrel in the mid-90's. This was due to Russia desperately flooding the world market with oil, in order to earn money, as their economy was imploding in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. By 2000 the price had got back to $40 per barrel as the Russians rationed supply and the world economy boomed, increasing demand. The world recession of 2001/2 took the oil price back to $25 per barrel, but since the Iraq war it has been steadily climbing and is now over $70 per barrel.

So what's happened? Firstly the Iraq war caused a supply problem - Iraq is selling less oil than they did under Saddam as the pipelines keep getting blown up. In addition the Americans developed an SUV craze, partly fueled by a mad tax incentive that had any self-employed person able to claim the entire cost of an SUV up to $100,000 against tax. Why buy a normal car when Uncle Sam is happy to pay for an SUV? This tax break has now been repealed, but the damage has been done. Then the developing world started to grow strongly bringing in a new set of consumers. People in China and India would also rather have cars than walk, and though they tend to buy small cars, the sheer number of them mean that demand has risen. Finally the Bush administration has been sabre-rattling towards Iran, the holder of the second largest oil reserve in the world. Bombing Iran would remove a huge supply from the world market, and so speculators have piled in to buy oil now, to take advantages of the anticipated oil spike when the bombing actually takes place.



What can we do?

What we can do is to conserve oil. The less oil we use, the lower demand, and the price should fall. Europe and Japan have always been good at conservation - we use roughly the same amount of oil as we did in the 70's, despite the population being much larger. The good news is that the high oil prices is finally making Americans cut back - the latest figures show that oil usage has stalled there, as people try to use their cars less. Of course a beneficial side-effect of conserving petrol is that we emit less carbon into the atmosphere.



How can we conserve oil

People waste a lot of petrol when driving. How often do you see people racing towards a red traffic light and then braking sharply? Or people speeding unnecessarily, especially in city situations? That five seconds that you think you are saving in getting to your destination is costing you a lot. The good news is that the government is going to introduce fuel efficient driving as part of the driving test. This is already done in some European countries.


Here's how to do it:

1. Instead of braking, take your foot off the accelerator and let the car slow down to reach the traffic lights. I'm aware that sometimes the car behind might not be aware you are slowing down, so lightly touch the brake to flash the brake lights, and then take your foot off both the brake and accelerator and simply let the car drift to a stop.

2. Don't speed. Find out the optimal efficient speed for your car and stick to it. It's dangerous going over 30mph in a city environment anyway, so don't. On a motorway, stick to about 60mph. This will need some planning as driving at a lower speed means that the journey will take longer, so you may need to leave the house earlier.

3. Get your car serviced - dirty air filters and oil that hasn't been changed reduces fuel efficiency

4. Make sure your tire pressure is correct.

5. Don't carry heavy loads. The lighter the car, the less fuel it uses. Spend some time clearing junk from the car. Don't keep roof-racks on if you don't need them.

6. Air conditioning decreases fuel efficiency. Unfortunately leaving your windows down creates drag that also reduces fuel efficiency. The only way to get round this is to try not to drive in the hottest parts of the day, when your air conditioning needs will be highest. Park in cool spots to keep the car cool.

7. Drive in the correct gear, if you are using a manual car.

8. Make fewer journeys - instead of popping to the supermarket every couple of days, do big shops occasionally. This too demands prior organisation.


Fuel efficient cars

When it comes to replacing your car, try to buy a more fuel efficient car. The smaller the car the more fuel efficient, and the newer the car, the more fuel efficient due to newer technology incorporated. The following are a list of fuel efficient cars (based on Imperial gallons, not American ones):

Honda Insight 2 seater (petrol) 80.0 mpg
Toyota Aygo 1.4 D-4D 3 & 5 door (diesel) 68.9 mpg
Toyota Prius 1.5 VVT-i Hybrid (petrol) 65.7 mpg
Toyota Yaris 1.4 D-4D 3 & 5 door (diesel) 62.8 mpg
Toyota Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 3 & 5 door (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Peugeot 107 1.0 (petrol) 61.3 mpg
Renault Modus 1.5 dCi 80 (JP0D05) (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Mitsubishi Colt 1.5 AMT (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Skoda Fabia Hatch 1.4 TDI PD (75 bhp) (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Skoda Fabia Estate 1.4 TDI PD (75 bhp) (diesel)61.4 mpg
Renault Clio MY 20061.5 dCi (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Ford Fusion 1.6 Duratorq TDCi (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Seat New Ibiza 1.4 TDI (80 PS) (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Renault Megane 1.5 dCi (diesel) 61.4 mpg
VW Polo 1.4 TDI PD (80 PS) (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Nissan Micra 1.5 3/5 door (65 PS) (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Smart forfour 1.5Td (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Honda Civic Hybrid 1.4 IMA ES (petrol) 61.4 mpg
Suzuki Swift 1.3 GLZ 3 door DDiS (diesel) 61.4 mpg
Vauxhall Corsa MY2005 1.3CDTi 16v5Door (diesel)61.4 mpg
Vauxhall Astra MY2005 1.7CDTi 16v 5Door(diesel)61.4 mpg


Of course, the easiet way to conserve petrol is to walk!

Summary: Tips on fuel efficiency