Choosing Fuel Efficient and Environment-Friendly Vehicles

Are you planning to buy a car? Do you know the specs you want for the unit you want to buy? Well, surely you have heard or read about “Euro 6 compliance” which every automotive dealer is bragging and talking about these days.

Although it might sound a very complex thing for a person who only wants to buy his/her first car, but then it is very important when buying a new vehicle. You can consider yourself a savior of Mother Nature since Euro 6 compliance is about setting the standards in reducing the pollutants from different automotive vehicles especially the millions of light vehicles running around the world. If you buy a unit that complies with the Euro 6 standards, then that would mean less pollutants emitted.

Data shows that the biggest contributor in air pollution are the automotive vehicles we drive everyday in going to the office or anywhere we want. This is why the European Union created the term “Euro compliance,” it is the formation of standards on acceptable limits for new units for their exhaust emissions and this includes cars, trains, trucks, buses and tractors, excluding air and sea ships.

From Euro 1 compliant in 1993 to Euro 6 compliant which would take place in year 2014, at present Euro 5 is the one being used by manufacturers in their standard as of 2009. The standards are actually becoming stricter, tougher and efficient creating an enormous amount of challenge to automotive manufacturers on how to improve their units and make it more fuel efficient. As what Automotive Engineers usually said, “The more efficient your unit becomes the lesser carbon monoxide it would produce.”

Now, not only the European Union is using the set of standards in automotive manufacturing but also almost around the world and not surprisingly even the third world countries are now starting to comply with it, although they are starting at Euro 3 standard.

Here are some of the parameters in Euro 5 compliant

Units running in natural Gas, LPG or Petrol Vehicles

• Hydrocarbons – 100 mg/km
• Nitrogen Oxides- 60 mg/km
• Non-methane Hydrocarbons – 68 mg/km
• Carbon Monoxide – 1000 mg/km

Units running in Diesel Fuel

• Combined Hydrocarbons – 50 mg/km
• Nitrogen Oxides – 180 mg/km
• Carbon Monoxide – 500 mg/km

Although there are categories that should also be considered

One solution that automotive manufacturers especially in diesel consuming units found is the usage of ECU or Engine control unit which we commonly see on gasoline engine. We could easily say that they started installing electronic devices in our diesel engine which we usually see’s on high end gasoline units once.

Studies have shown that units incorporated with an ECU is more likely to be fuel efficient compared to the old ones. But for most of the owners of old units, becoming fuel efficient and a Euro compliant takes place in adding some accessories which is compatible to their unit. A combination of installing turbo chargers and some pickup truck accessories would surely give some owners a new thing in fuel efficiency.

Benefits Of Electrical Vehicles

Electrical vehicles are becoming more and more popular around the world. There are cars that can run literally only off of electricity. This allows you many benefits such as to help save the environment and save on money for you.

Electric cars produce zero emissions at the point of use because it can be up to 6 times more efficient than a regular one and it will use half of the fuel of a regular combustion engine. An electric vehicle produces between 5 and 10 percent of the emissions of a regular engine. It also scrubs its own exhaust. They can use electricity from anywhere including sun and wind energy. These types of cars are overpoweringly better because they are extremely quiet, affordable and easy to use.

It is getting easier and easier for cars to not emit exhaust gas. The car isn’t exactly solar-powered but it does help reduce smog and air pollution. The only problem is that the energy source has to come from SOMEWHERE so it can’t just run forever on its own. Wind, water power and solar energy would be ideal but coal and oil are more easily accessible and simpler.

The battery is far less powerful and poisonous to the environment than gasoline. It takes far less power to run. They also help cut down on waste disposal so the wind and solar energy can gain ground.

There are bicycles that do the same type of thing with the energy saving mode which take even less power. Those are more self-energy generating. Trolleys are also an example of a solar powered vehicle.

These cars convert about 75% of the chemical energy from the batteries to power the car while regular engines only covert about 20% of the energy. This means that this type of car is way more environmentally friendly. They have no tail pipe pollutants other than the power plant that may emit them. Electricity causes no air pollutants though.

This car allows for a quieter smoother ride and a stronger acceleration. It is a cleaner engine which requires less maintenance. The energy dependencies is mainly electricity. The only problem with that is that the car will need to be charged after 100 to 200 miles while gasoline vehicles can go over 300 miles. The time it takes to recharge can be up to 8 hours while even a fast charge can take around 30 minutes. The battery packs are expensive and may need to be replaced. They are pretty heavy and they can take up a lot of space in the car though new technology may provide the ability to conserve room and take up less space while taking less time to charge and allowing the car to go further.