More of us are becoming aware of our own carbon footprint. If you don’t know already, that’s the amount of carbon dioxide that you’re personally responsible for emitting. One of the biggest sources of these emissions is from our cars. So, what can we do to reduce our vehicle emissions?
Slow Down
Slowing down can actually reduce the amount of fuel you use. By slowing down, you can save up to 20% of the emissions that your car releases. You should drive at a moderate speed rather than accelerating sharply, which uses more fuel. You should do what you can to brake sooner and softer too. Braking too hard will damage your engine and brakes. But it will also fail to decrease the amount of fuel you’re using, meaning that you will end up using more fuel, and emitting more CO2.
Use Air Conditioning Less
Running your car’s air conditioning system might not use that much fuel, but it does use some. If you’re one of those people who turns it on as soon as you get in the car, you could be using a lot of fuel on this. It adds up to a pretty large amount over the course of a year, so you should keep an eye on how much you use it. By using it slightly less, you could reduce your emissions quite significantly. You should turn the system off once it’s been on for a while because the cold air will still be circulating in the car.
If You Drive a Diesel, Use Exhaust Fluid
Diesel powered cars are often seen as being unclean than other kinds. This is not necessarily always true though, and you can do things to improve how efficient your diesel vehicle is. Using exhaust fluid is one of the things that you definitely need to do if you want to reduce your vehicle emissions. Peak BlueDef and other similar products are injected into the exhaust stream and then help to make cleaner emissions. Furthermore, you may schedule a muffler service to clean your exhaust system, as well as reduce the noise from your engine. You may also look into investing in a Cummins 6.7 performance engine or a 6.0 powerstroke to improve your car’s overall performance.
Don’t Leave the Engine Idle
Many of us leave the car running for a while when we are waiting for someone or something. Maybe you are picking someone up from somewhere or dropping them off. It might seem sensible and normal for you to leave the engine running, but you will be wasting a lot of fuel. So, you should be careful to avoid doing this as much as you can. There is really no excuse for emitting CO2 when your car is not even moving.
Simply Drive Less
The easiest way to reduce your vehicle emissions is to drive less. If you’re not driving your car, then it won’t be emitting any CO2. This is probably not something that you can do all the time. But you could take public transport more often and walk those short journeys rather than jumping in the car. Alternatively, you could switch to a more environmentally friendly car. There are plenty of great electric cars and hybrid cars on the market now, so you should switch to one next time you upgrade.
