Hypermiling and air conditioning
June 11's timely Urban Word of the Day (courtesy of Urban Dictionary) is
hypermiling: driving techniques and car mods aimed at increasing your gas mileage to the absolute max. Often practiced with a Toyota Prius or other hybrid vehicle.
Yoshi is hypermiling cross country this week. He is trying to go from Chicago to LA on one tank of gas!
The hypermilers in my story today were able to eek extra miles out of each gallon by making simple adjustments that frankly most driving instructors would approve of: driving at the speed limit and accelerating and braking gently, keeping tires inflated and decreasing other demands on energy such as idling, air conditioning and heavy loads.
And the savings eases all the pain sometimes felt from the rude gestures from their fellow motorists, although most hypermilers say they stay to the right and yield to faster drivers.
But on a week like this one, how do hypermilers survive the heat without AC?
They minimize it. Here are tips from Wayne Gerdes, of cleanmpg.com:
Don't let your car heat up while you're not in it: he recommends keeping the windows cracked about half an inch, to allow the car to remain close to ambient temperature. Most people also try to park in shade if possible.
- On a 68 or 70-degree day, crack the driver's side window while driving to create some negative pressure to draw cool air through your ventilation system. And use the vent fans!
- On a slightly warmer day, crack the right rear passenger window, to create some cross breeze. Use the vent fans as well.
- On an even hotter day, take a few minutes to open your car windows and doors so the inside temperature regulates to the outside temperature --- you'll expend less energy trying to cool your car from 102 degrees or so than 160 degrees.
- When you get in the car, keep the windows down but turn on the AC for a few minutes to push out the hot air and drive the hot air out of your vents.
- Then close the windows and let the car cool.
- And use the recirculation button to move the cool, dehumidified air around the car.
- Turn the AC off if you need to accelerate, such as merging onto a highway or leaving a stop light.
Comments
I read your article on hypermiling in the June 11, 2008 edition of The Baltimore Sun. I have been practicing this technique for several weeks now. I have filled my 2004 Dodge Neon up twice and I have been amazed at the difference. My car normally never gets more than 24 mpg but, using the hypermiling technique, the last two tanks have averaged slightly over 29 mpg. I am thrilled. Sure, I get some rude gestures while traveling from my home in Reisterstown to my state job at Reisterstown Road Plaza. Everyone is complaining about the gas prices, but few people really want to do anything about it. I generally drive 55-60 on 795 and people in huge pickups and SUVs fly past me. If everyone is go concerned about gas prices, why don't more people try to conserve just a little. My daughters live in Greenbelt, Maryland and Falling Waters, West Virginia. I need the extra milage to have the gas money to go see them!
Thank you for your article. Hopefully, it will wake a few more people up to this conservative and safe way to drive.
Posted by: Diann Miller | June 11, 2008 2:27 PM