Vehicle Choice
When it comes to choosing a vehicle, colour is everything. Well, not quite, but choosing a greener car with greater fuel efficiency makes both environmental and financial sense.
As the range of actual and advertised greener vehicles grows, choosing between them is made more difficult. This section will briefly discuss what is available and provide links to more comprehensive breakdowns of the options.
Electric Cars
Electric vehicles use electricity stored in a battery as their primary source of power. Supported by renewables, electric vehicles promise to play a lead role in the government’s efforts to reduce emissions from transport. Since they first appeared on the market the variety, range (now around 60 miles) and speed of electric vehicles have become comparable to the traditional driving experience. Whilst the embodied energy of electric vehicles (and all new cars) should be considered before purchase they increasingly represent a viable alternative to the traditional combustion engine. New charging points are being developed for electric vehicles, but they can be plugged in to a normal socket in a garage and it will charge them just as well.
Hybrids
A conventional fuel engine coupled with an electric motor mean that the green credentials of the hybrid are very much dependent upon the driver and the journey. Ambling around town at lower speeds the hybrid can rely on its electric power and its regenerative breaking system, but speed up on motorways or country lanes, the petrol engine kicks and efficiency ebbs. They favour slow and cautious drivers.
More Efficient Combustion
Cars capable of achieving 60 miles to the gallon and emissions of around 110g/km currently represent the most efficient of those vehicles with a traditional internal combustion engine. Using biodiesel in such vehicles can also improve its environmental performance. Biodiesel includes fuels produced by energy crops such as oil seed rape, sunflower oil, palm oil and soybeans. Everyday straight vegetable oils (SVOs), modified waste vegetable oils (WVOs), and recycled animal oils can also be used in place of mineral diesel.
