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For Wildlife Conservation class, I'm researching car efficiency, and learning some interesting things from the fun guys at Car Talk.
For instance, every 5 MPH you drive over 60 MPH you're paying an additional $0.21 per gallon for gas. Holy. CRAP. Good thing I don't speed. I actually stunned my roommate into silence with that one.
The most efficient internal combustion engine has about 30-percent efficiency, meaning that 70 percent of the energy generated is lost. Of the remaining energy, the majority goes toward moving the thousands of pounds of vehicle. Overall, about 1% of the energy generated actually moves YOU around.
They debunk the myth that starting up a car takes more energy than running it (which is why people let the car idle for a few minutes instead of turning it off and restarting it).
But my favorite is this part:
"Unless it's below freezing, cars don't need to be warmed up at all. Driving them gently is the best warm up there is. If it's 25 degrees out, you might want to let it warm up for 30 seconds. If it's 10 degrees out, warm it up for a minute. If it's -10 degrees out, move somewhere warmer."
*snork* Oh, how I miss thee, Winsconsin/Minnesota.
For instance, every 5 MPH you drive over 60 MPH you're paying an additional $0.21 per gallon for gas. Holy. CRAP. Good thing I don't speed. I actually stunned my roommate into silence with that one.
The most efficient internal combustion engine has about 30-percent efficiency, meaning that 70 percent of the energy generated is lost. Of the remaining energy, the majority goes toward moving the thousands of pounds of vehicle. Overall, about 1% of the energy generated actually moves YOU around.
They debunk the myth that starting up a car takes more energy than running it (which is why people let the car idle for a few minutes instead of turning it off and restarting it).
But my favorite is this part:
"Unless it's below freezing, cars don't need to be warmed up at all. Driving them gently is the best warm up there is. If it's 25 degrees out, you might want to let it warm up for 30 seconds. If it's 10 degrees out, warm it up for a minute. If it's -10 degrees out, move somewhere warmer."
*snork* Oh, how I miss thee, Winsconsin/Minnesota.
