Saving money behind the wheel

Tips to reduce gas consumption and increase safety

As increasing gasoline prices cause consumers to reach deeper into their wallets, buying an electric-gasoline hybrid vehicle, like a Toyota Prius or a Ford Escape SUV, has become a new craze. But if purchasing a more fuel-efficient hybrid to reduce your “pain at the pump” (and carbon footprint) isn’t in your budget, here are some steps that can trim gas consumption and improve vehicle mileage:

•  Observe the speed limit—While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed (or range of speeds), gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph. Each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph, in fact, becomes the equivalent of spending an extra 30 cents per gallon for gas.

•  Remove any excess weight—Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your miles per gallon by up to 2 percent. The reduction is based on the percentage of the extra load relative to the vehicle’s weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones.

•  Avoid excessive idling—Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than cars with smaller engines.

•  Use cruise control—Using cruise control on the highway helps you maintain a constant speed and, in most cases, will save gas.

•  Use overdrive gears—When you use overdrive gearing, your car’s engine speed goes down. This saves gas and reduces engine wear.

•  Drive sensibly—Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. In addition, sensible driving makes things safer for you and others.

—Source: U.S. Department of Energy, www.fueleconomy.gov

Change a light, change the world with Energy Star

The next time one of your old incandescent lightbulbs burns out, make the switch to an Energy Star-qualified compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL). CFLs use 75 percent less energy than standard lighting, and they last up to 10 times longer.

Energy Star-qualified CFLs …

• Save about $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.

• Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, indoors and outdoors.

• Are convenient in hard-to-reach and frequently used fixtures, saving time replacing bulbs.

• Prevent more than 400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime.

• Contain a small amount of mercury, so they should be disposed of properly, ideally recycled. Learn more at www.energystar.gov/cflsandmercury.

Where to use CFLs:

• To get the most energy savings, replace bulbs where lights are typically left on the longest in your home.

• CFLs work best in open fixtures that allow airflow.

How to choose the right light:

• Look first for the government’s Energy Star label. These bulbs have met rigorous energy-efficiency, quality and lifetime standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. They are also backed by a two-year manufacturer’s warranty.

• Match the right CFL type to the right kind of fixture to help ensure that it will perform properly and last longer. Read the packaging to be sure that the type you choose works for the fixture you have in mind. For example, if a light fixture is connected to a dimmer or three-way switch, select CFLs that are labeled for this use. Also, if the light fixture is recessed, it is better to use a “reflector” (a CFL that has reflective material on the bulb to reflect light a certain direction) CFL instead of a standard type.

• To get the right amount of light, choose a CFL that offers the same lumen rating as the light you are replacing. The higher the lumen rating, the greater the light output.

• Choose the color that works best for you. For example, while most CFLs are created with warm colors for most rooms in your home (2,700 to 3,000 degrees Kelvin), you might choose a cooler color for task lighting (3,500 to 6,500 degrees Kelvin).

—Source: Energy Star

Indoor air could be hazardous

When the outdoor air quality is poor, don’t think holing up inside the house is safe. Indoor air pollution may cause more health problems than outdoor pollution because of the higher concentration of pollutants, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Yet most people spend 90 percent of their time indoors.

You can take some steps to clear up the air inside your home, but identifying all of the possible pollutants is difficult. If family members are having headaches or suffering from nausea or allergies, ask your doctor if these could be reactions to pollutants. Take these steps to increase your indoor air quality:

• Airtight houses increase indoor air quality because they keep out dangerous pollutants from air and soil and are equipped with proper ventilation to clean out the air inside.

• Combustion appliances require ventilation from the source. Furnaces and stoves should be directly vented to remove moisture and combustion byproducts. Bathrooms should have exhaust fans to pull moisture outside. Clothes dryers should be vented to the outdoors. 

• Seal cracks and insulate walls in the basement to prevent pollutants from soil—like radon—from entering the house. Use cement grout or caulk to seal visible cracks in foundation walls or floors.

• Check and clean your furnace every year to prevent damaged heat exchangers or blocked flues from spewing pollutants into indoor air.

• Change furnace filters frequently. The filters not only protect the furnace equipment, but high-quality filters can also trap pollutants.

• Install a carbon monoxide detector in your home. Unlike some other pollutants, you won’t know when carbon monoxide is in the air because it is colorless and odorless.

• Paints, solvents, household cleaners and air fresheners can contain pollutants. Use them with windows open and exhaust fans on.

• If you need to remove lead paint from your home’s walls and ceilings, call a professional. The removal process can cause serious health risks if not done properly.