Fuel Efficiency for the 21st century

• Joe Shrader, BS, MAED,PHD.

• March, 2008

• ARRRRRGH!

What does this really mean?

• http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/FEG2000.htm

EPA estimate (2005) • SMALL SUV - Jeep Liberty Diesel Ltd. (4WD)

EPA CITY MPG: 22 CR CITY MPG: 11 EPA SHORTFALL: 50 percent

HYBRID - Honda Civic Sedan EPA CITY MPG: 48 CR CITY MPG: 26 EPA SHORTFALL: 46 percent

LARGE SEDAN - Chrysler 300C EPA CITY MPG: 17 CR CITY MPG: 10 EPA SHORTFALL: 41 percent

MIDSIZED SUV - Chevrolet TrailBlazer EXT LT (4WD) EPA CITY MPG: 15 CR CITY MPG: 9 EPA SHORTFALL: 40 percent

MINIVAN - Honda Odyssey EX EPA CITY MPG: 20 CR CITY MPG: 12 EPA SHORTFALL: 40 percent

Some others•

LUXURY SEDAN - BMW 745Li EPA CITY MPG: 18 CR CITY MPG: 11 EPA SHORTFALL: 39 percent

PICKUP - Dodge Ram 1500 SLT (crew cab, 4WD) EPA CITY MPG: 13 CR CITY MPG: 8 EPA SHORTFALL: 38 percent

FAMILY SEDAN - Oldsmobile Alero GL EPA CITY MPG: 21 CR CITY MPG: 13 EPA SHORTFALL: 38 percent

LARGE SUV - Dodge Durango Limited (4WD) EPA CITY MPG: 13 CR CITY MPG: 8 EPA SHORTFALL: 38 percent

SMALL SEDAN - Ford Focus ZX4 SES EPA CITY MPG: 26 CR CITY MPG: 17 EPA SHORTFALL: 35 percent

FYI: CAFÉ standards

United States: 24.6 mpg (cars and trucks)

27.5 mpg (cars ) (2004)

35 mpg (2020)

European Union: 47 mpg (2012)

Japan: 35.5 mpg (2010)

Australia: 29.1 mpg (2002)

34.4 mpg (2010)

Vehicle selection:

• Use and needs:

• What is this vehicle going to be used for?

• How many people?

• Do I need to pull a trailer/boat etc.• How often

Vehicle selection:

• How much money do I have to spend on transportation?

• Purchase price

• Fuel cost/year

• Insurance/year

• Repairs/year

• Upgrades

Vehicle selection:

• Where to buy:

• Family

• Friends

• How to establish price• Kelly Bluebook• NADA• Your bank

Vehicle selection:

• Retail price

• Wholesale price

• Trade in price

• Where/how to finance– Banks– “on the lot”– Credit union– other

Vehicle selection:

• How to shop• Dealer’s lot• Newspaper• Bargain Trader• On-line

• It is a buyer’s market!! Take your time……..

Options

• Let us look at some of the GREEN options available in today’s market.

Hybrids

• Advantages include:

• Unlimited miles

• Great mileage in city driving

• Average fuel savings of 25%, ($600/yr)

Hybrids

• Disadvantages might include:• Higher initial cost ($3-4000)• Only smaller vehicles currently• No advantage (MPG) at highway speeds• Battery life, four years for lead/acid batteries• Cost of battery replacement ($2000)• NiMH cost $20,000-30,000• Service availability• Crash danger of 20 lead/acid batteries

Battery Problems

• You can replace lead-acid batteries with NiMH batteries. The range of the car will double and the batteries will last 10 years (thousands of charge/discharge cycles), but the cost of the batteries today is 10 to 15 times greater than lead-acid. In other words, an NiMH battery pack will cost $20,000 to $30,000 (today) instead of $2,000. Prices for advanced batteries fall as they become mainstream, so over the next several years it is likely that NiMH and lithium-ion battery packs will become competitive with lead-acid battery prices. Electric cars will have significantly better range at that point.

NiMH = Nickel-metal hydride battery

Battery manufacturing

• Lead mined in Canada• Shipped to China for manufacture• Shipped to US for sale• The “carbon footprint” in the manufacture

and shipping of these (20) lead/acid batteries is equivalent to 3 ½ years of driving with a gasoline vehicle.

• Recycling these batteries costs up to $2000/ton

Crashes with electric/hybrid?

• Firefighters and rescue personnel receive special training to deal with the higher voltages and chemicals encountered in electric and hybrid electric vehicle accidents. While BEV accidents may present unusual problems, such as fires and fumes resulting from rapid battery discharge, there is apparently no available information regarding whether they are inherently more or less dangerous than gasoline or diesel internal combustion vehicles which carry flammable fuels.

For more information:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car

Electric Vehicles

EVs Great variation in style and cost.

• Limitations include distance. New batteries will help here, but at substantial increased costs.

• Recharging at work.

• Electricity is not free energy.

• Usually small commuter vehicles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car

Flex-fuel vehicles

• These vehicles are designed to run on a variation of different fuels.

• Ethanol fuels now are 90% unleaded gas and 10% ethanol. Flex-fuel vehicles allow for up to 85% ethanol.

• These include different sensors in the vehicle to deal with variations in fuels.

Fuel savings?

• FFVs experience no loss in performance when operating on E85. However, since a gallon of ethanol contains less energy than a gallon of gasoline, FFVs typically get about 20-30% fewer miles per gallon when fueled with E85.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexible-fuel_vehicle

Biogasoline/synthetic gas

• Unlike ethanol, the fuel can also be used in high concentrations in regular gasoline engines and travel through existing pipelines, the companies said. In addition, it will have a higher energy content and be more fuel efficient than ethanol, the leading renewable fuel in the U.S. today, the companies said.

Hydrogen fuel cells

Hydrogen fuel cell

• These cells are expensive storage units. Batteries if you please.

• Recharging them is a major problem (at present)

• Adding filling stations would cost 1/2trillion dollars. (US)

• Still run an electric motor.

Diesel vehicles

• Diesel vehicles have several advantages:

• More power

• Better MPG, (20-30%)

• Longer life

• Better resale value

• Burn almost any type fuel oil

Higher compression

• Up to 20:1 compression ratio increases the power proportionately

Diesel

• Disadvantages include:

• Higher initial cost ($5,000)

• Higher fuel cost (20% more)

• Heavier vehicle to support the heavier engine

• Fuel availability

Diesel?

• In addition to improved fuel economy, diesels offer other benefits. Compared to gasoline engines, diesel engines produce 20 to 30 percent less CO2 emissions, which contribute to climate change. And turbocharged diesel engines produce far more torque than gasoline engines, making them fun to drive and well-suited to tasks like towing.

Why is Diesel so costly?• Highway Diesel Fuel • 500 ppm: Sulfur limit of 500 ppm = 0.05% (wt.) became effective in

October 1993. This fuel, commonly referred to as the low sulfur diesel fuel, was introduced to facilitate sulfate particulate emission reductions, which were necessary for meeting the 1994 emission standards for heavy-duty highway engines.

• 15 ppm: Diesel fuel of maximum sulfur level of 15 ppm will be available for highway use beginning in June 2006. This fuel, referred to as the ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), was legislated by the EPA to enable catalyst-based emission control devices, such as diesel particulate filters and NOx adsorbers, which will be necessary for meeting the 2007-2010 emission standards for heavy-duty engines, as well as the Tier 2 light-duty standards.

Other choices

• Walking

• Bicycling

• Mopeds

• Roller blades

• Motorcycles.

• All these have advantages of energy savings and ease of parking.

Back to driving more fuel efficiently

• We have talked about selection– Buy fuel efficient vehicles– Buy what meets your needs– Doing your homework

Driving more fuel efficiently

• Accelerate slower

Drive at moderate speeds

• 45 MPH is optimum for fuel economy.

Keep moving, anticipate traffic

Increase following distance

• You can’t see

Now you can

Easy does it…

• There is no need to always be in a rush, plan ahead. Start earlier.

Trip planning

• Combine trips• Call ahead• Avoid rush hour• Avoid traffic lights• Avoid slow, stop and go traffic• Car pooling• Mass transportation• Move closer to work

Don’t draft a truck

Drafting can have severe results

Check your air pressure

Performance module, Chips

Synthetic Oils?

• Oil additives

• Always check your

Owner’s warranty

Carpooling

Carpool lanes

• Over 70% of us drive to work alone

Insurance savings

• If you drive 10 or more miles to work, you pay 20% more for your insurance.

• If you carpool and average less than 10 miles one way to work, you can save that 20% on your insurance.

Down east carpool

Prices of gas around the world• Prices are quoted in US dollars per gallon for regular unleaded.• March 2008 US ($3.25)

Oslo, Norway $6.82 

Hong Kong $6.25 

•Brussels , Belgium $6.16 

London, UK $5.96 

Rome , Italy $5.80 

•Tokyo, Japan $5.25 

Sao Paulo , Brazil $4.42 

New Delhi, India $3.71 

•Sidney , Australia $3.42 

Johannesburg, South Africa $3.39 

Mexico City $2.22 

•Buenos Aires , Argentina $2.09 

Riyadh , Saudi Arabia $0.91 

Kuwait $0.78 

.. YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS ... 

• Caracas , Venezuela $0.12

Fuel costs

• Energy cost is becoming an even more difficult problem for all of us.

• Your government (despite commercials), is not trying to lower fuel costs.

• Their goal is for us to use less, therefore, higher prices help meet their goal. We used 1% less gas last year (2007). That percentage will be higher this year as prices go to $4/gallon.

• That is successful! (To your legislature)

You are on your own!

• It is your responsibility to reduce your fuel and other energy costs.

• Select a better vehicle (MPG)

• Drive more fuel efficiently

• Drive less, carpool, combine trips, etc

• Plan your vehicle use better

• You will spend thousands of dollars this year on gas, a 10% savings is significant.

• ECU driver education• http://www.ecu.edu/cs-hhp/hlth/drivered/dred.cfm