Eco-friendly driving doesn’t just save the planet, it saves you money. Fuel prices are constantly rising resulting in a greater need to drive economically. On top of changing the way you drive, you can now invest in many gadgets to help improve fuel efficiency. Here are a few of those gadgets worth getting your hands on.
MPG meter
Many modern cars already have these fitted into the dashboard, however if your car doesn’t have one, there are many MPG meter accessories that can be purchased to do the job. Examples such as the Kiwi MPG gauge work with all vehicle manufactured after 1996 and are small and compact enough to be mounted anywhere in your car. By constantly seeing how much fuel you’re consuming you can more accurately adjust your driving to get most the miles for your money.
Eco-pedal
Pedals such as the Nissan eco-pedal are deliberately designed to stop your accelerating as harshly by providing resistance against your foot as you hit the gas. This can be useful for those that have a tendency to overdo the revs. Studies have found that these pedals can improve fuel economy by as much as 10%.
TPMS
A TPMS (Tyre Pressure Monitoring System) measures how well inflated your tyres are. Driving on under-inflated tyres can cause you to churn through much more fuel as well as providing less grip. TPMS sensors are readily available from many places on the web and are easy to install. It’s much more convenient than having to manually check tyres before every journey – something most of us forget.
Fuel-saving apps
There are plenty of apps for your smartphone that could save you money on fuel. The likes of Gas Buddy compares all nearby gas stations in the area to get you the best price. When it comes to physically using less fuel, the likes of Car Care can calculate fuel economy on a range of automobiles, even providing graphs to get a clearer sense of the data. Trying out some of these apps as you drive could be a way of further saving money on fuel stops.
Solar powered devices
Every electric device used in your car consumes more fuel. Switching to solar powered devices could stop you having to plug in devices to your car. You can now get solar powered SatNavs, which may spare you having to use a plug-in model or save you having to charge up your phone. That said, if you do need to charge up your phone, a solar battery charger could be worth purchasing. These portable devices can be used to charge phones, iPods, laptops and all other manner of gadgets that you feel like bringing in your car. Shop around online for different models and read reviews to judge how effective the device others (some devices may need more sun exposure than others). There are even solar chargers out there to power up your car’s battery.
