How to lower your carbon emissions

Air pollution is a growing issue in modern society as the amount of emissions we create increases. Exhaust fumes from petrol and diesel cars are a major cause of this pollution. As a result of this, governments have become focused on lowering emissions and improving environmental technology. As a driver, there are also ways that you can lower your emissions by thinking about the way you drive, how often you drive and how well maintained your vehicle is.

What's the alternative to petrol and diesel powered cars?

The alternative to petrol and diesel powered cars is electric cars. Electric vehicles currently only make up 1% of vehicles on UK roads. However, this number is continually rising and set to rise even higher in the future. Technological improvements are helping to make electric vehicles more accessible and affordable. As a result of growing interest in environmental technologies, car manufacturers are investing increasing amounts of time and money in electric vehicles.

Tyre manufacturers, such as Continental, are also at the forefront of environmental innovations. Although they are most commonly known for their tyre innovations, they also work to innovate in wider driving technology.

How to lower your vehicle emissions

There are a few simple ways that you can lower your vehicle emissions even without buying an electric or hybrid car. The most obvious is only driving when necessary. If you are able to walk or take public transport, then this can be a good way to cut down on your emissions. Alternatively, if the distance is too great and there are no public transport options available, lift sharing can be the next best solution. Reducing the amount of cars on the road serves to lower the emissions and can be significantly beneficial for the environment.

 It is also important to consider the way you drive and how this contributes to your emissions. Constantly speeding up and slowing down will release more emissions than driving at a steady pace throughout your journey. In addition, reducing the time where your engine is on but the vehicle is idle will also help to cut unnecessary emissions. Watching your speed is a crucial element of reducing emissions. Driving faster than 70mph will use up your fuel a lot quicker ans also increase your emissions greatly. Therefore, it is important to keep your speed down in order to keep your emissions down. However, you should also be mindful of driving at speeds less than 15mph as this will also increase emissions.

Vehicle maintenance

Ensuring that your vehicle is well maintained can help to ensure that your emissions are kept as low as possible. This includes actions such as checking your tyre pressures to make sure that your vehicle is using fuel as efficiently as possible. You should also consider looking at the rolling resistance displayed on the EU tyre label when buying a new tyre. A lower rolling resistance will help to keep fuel consumption levels and carbon dioxide emissions as low as possible.

Air conditioning is an often overlooked aspect of vehicle maintenance especially in seasons other than summer. Using the air conditioning forces your engine to work harder in turn increasing the vehicle emissions. For this reason, it is recommended that you switch off your air conditioning a few miles before arriving at your destination as cool air will still be circulating through your vehicle. It is usually more fuel efficient to travel with the air conditioning on as opposed to the windows down as this creates less resistance on the vehicle.

One of the best ways to to keep up your vehicle maintenance is with regular servicing. Why not save money by booking a combined MOT and Service at Kwik Fit? 

The future of driving

Environmental technology isn’t only about the vehicles themselves. The infrastructure for these vehicles is also being developed by companies such as Continental. The aim is to develop cities which offer a higher quality of life to its citizens through limiting vehicle emissions.

Their innovation in low emission technology is shown by them becoming a Founding Partner of Extreme E, an off-road vehicle race series with electric vehicles. The aim of this is to help to contribute to the spread of Electric Vehicle ownership.

With the increased number of electric vehicles, tyres need to be designed specifically for these vehicles. An example of this is Continental’s Conti.eContact™ engineered specifically for electric cars. The extra torque available for electric engines offers better braking performance, lower rolling resistance and noise emissions.

Talk To Kwik Fit

If you need any assistance with your vehicle and making sure that it is as fuel efficient as possible, pop down to your local Kwik Fit and our team will be happy to help out.