5 Simple Ways You Can Save Petrol and the Environment

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Did you know? More than 20 million people took part in the first Earth Day 47 years ago. This year, more than 1 billion people across 192 countries are expected to participate.

Here's how you can play your part, by saving petrol and Mother Earth!

1. Reduce Your Load

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How often do you actually open up your boot to have a look of what's in there? How many of you have treated your car boot as a store room for us to dump things in and is usually forgotten. When that happens, your car becomes heavier and it will consume significantly more petrol and put on extra pressure on all car components, polluting the environment even further. By eliminating 20% of the weight, fuel economy can be increased by as much as 8.4%!

Basically, anything that drags is highly inefficient. Do check your car boot once every fortnightly and clear all the unnecessary load, whether or not they are heavy. Best part? You get to save your money on petrol too!

2. Breathe Clean Filter

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Over time, your vehicle's air filter will be clogged with dust and dirt which in turn reduces the airflow to the engine. This will eventually cause its engine to work harder and become less efficient.

Replace your air filter regularly for your car to work at its best. Research has shown that replacing air filters timely can increase fuel mileage as much as 14%, more significantly in older cars. It will also improve acceleration by 6% to 11%. What's more? It's inexpensive and easy to replace it yourself. Don't be fooled by the amount of debris on the air filter even though it appears clean!

3. Avoid the Regular Daily Traffic Jams

Heading to central areas, yet not wanting to pay exorbitant carpark prices? You may consider parking at sheltered pay-per-entry neighbourhood carparks. For instance, you can park your car at carpark at HDB Hub, Toa Payoh and board a train to areas such as Orchard and Bugis conveniently. HDB Hub carpark from Monday to Saturday after 5pm is fixed at $1.50.

You can avoid the peak hour traffic jams which causes your car to idle on the road, resulting in further air pollution. Not only can you shun away from expensive parking rates in town, ERP gantries are also out of your costs! This way, the environment will also be saved!

4. Avoid Aggressive Driving

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Humans are generally impatient, especially drivers. Hence, the road rages right? However, studies have shown that accelerating to and from a traffic light does not save much of your precious time. Rather, doing that wears out your brakes and tires quicker.

Limiting quick acceleration and sudden breaking can increase fuel economy. A steady pressure will assist in minimising fuel consumption and maintaining constant and stable speed. Some drivers can in fact save up to 20% in fuel economy if they drive more calmly!

5. May the Wind Be with You

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Air-conditioner or wind-down windows? Which saves more fuel? Which is better?

Most people would think that air-conditioner would drain fuel mileage. Think again! Switching on or off the air-conditioner both have their benefits in different situations.

By winding down your windows, aerodynamics is lowered. It reduces the efficiency gained. Especially when your car is traveling at slower speeds! However, air-conditioner is relatively more fuel efficient when your vehicle is traveling at highway speed of 80km/h or greater.

Do your part today to save your vehicle's engine and fuel as well as to help protect our vulnerable earth!

Read more: 8 Fuel Efficiency Tips To Help You Save More Money

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