1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160 
How can you possibly lose from taking any and all
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
measures to cut your fuel bill? It doesn't matter who the driver is or what the vehicle spec — every litre of diesel burned yields 2.63kg of CO, (source: Defra). in addition, 95% of a vehicle's carbon footprint (including the tyres) is created during its operational life — that is, from the fuel it burns, Here are the key steps to cut your fuel bill.
• Ensure the most economical spec for each vehicle and each job.
• Send all drivers on Sated (Safe and fuelefficient driving) courses. If they haven't done one before, it's likely to cut their fuel consumption by 10%. The government claims that if the average improvements from its two-day scheme were carried through for one year, each driver would save £1,500 and 1,500kg of carbon emissions.
• Start a tyre-management policy. Check optimal inflation every week. Check wheel alignment on your tractor and the trailer a one-degree misalignment can cost you 2% more fuel. Ideally, wheel alignment should be checked at least twice a year.
• Close up the tractor to the trailer and tie curtains down hard — make the whole rig as aerodynamic as possible.
• Keep your maintenance schedules tight and effective. Well tuned vehicles are most economical • Overhaul your routeing and scheduling. Invest in software and sign up for backloads, but if you really want to cut down on the 25% empty running in the UK (a conservative estimate), educate your customers. Chances are they want to be seen as green too.
• Check out your lubes. Up to 60% of an engine's fuel energy is lost through heat exhaust and engine friction. The other 40% tackles aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, inertia,., things we have tried to address in earlier points. The right lubricant can cool and optimise your driveline for maximum fuel efficiency. Lots of claims are made for synthetics or semi-synthetics; why not run your own trial?
• Make idling a hanging offence. There's no excuse for running the engine unless it's to make you money.