I jumped in my car this morning to run to the store to pick up some some things before I had to catch the bus. Since it was cold out, and as an almost habit, I turned on my front and rear defrosters as soon as I started my car. This action did not cross my mind again until a few hours later…
It would have normally not crossed my mind at all but, this morning in my 9:05 class we had a speaker presenting on sustainability. He gave us an overview of many things we could do to reduce our carbon footprint and save ourselves money. One of the money saving subjects was on improving our gas mileage. He suggested such things as being sure our tire pressure is good and not letting your car run to ‘warm up’ for more than 1 minute. These things I had known, but a surprising suggestion he had for us was NOT to turn on the defrosters as soon as you start the car since it will pull away energy from the engine and decrease gas mileage. It is better to wait until the car gets a little warmer, then turn it on (the air will be warmer anyway!)
I chose to write about this piece of advice because I felt it was surprising and probably a fact not commonly known. So, here is a simple and easy way to improve gas mileage and save yourself some money!
Filed under: improving gas mileage
