Looks like winter might be walloping us a little early this year.
And although the wasteful practice of idling vehicles happens year-round, the impending cold spells will undoubtedly spur on a substantial increase of needless emissions.
Contrary to common belief, there is no measurable benefit to letting a stationary vehicle run any longer than a minute while stopping for even quick errands such as going to the post office, grabbing a couple of groceries, picking up a prescription, or perhaps picking up or dropping off the kids at school.
It happens to us all; sometimes what was supposed to take only a second unexpectedly ends up taking much longer.
I’ve seen idling parked vehicles when I arrive to run an errand, which might take anywhere from five to 10 minutes or even longer, that are still running — sometimes even unattended — by the time I return.
“If drivers of light-duty vehicles avoided idling by just three minutes a day, over the year Canadians would collectively save 630 million litres of fuel and $630 million in fuel costs (assuming a fuel cost of $1.00/L),” states Natural Resources Canada.
While we no doubt all wish the price at the pump was just a buck a litre, we are altogether too painfully aware that it most certainly is not. So that estimate, with prices more like $1.30, is closer to a billion.
“Many Canadian fleet operators have implemented idling policies to reduce their fuel costs and improve their competitiveness. With today’s high fuel prices, individual Canadians might be well-advised to consider adopting their own personal idling policy,” states Natural Resources Canada.
Of course the frequency of start-stop cycles and the distance travelled in between stops does play a role. There’s more than gas involved in starting a vehicle — the battery and starter also play a role. In other words, while one should not leave a vehicle idling needlessly, he or she should also probably avoid constantly turning the car on and off.
“The break-even point to offset any incremental maintenance costs is under 60 seconds. You’ll save money on fuel that should more than offset any potential increase in maintenance costs,” according to Natural Resources Canada.
“Best practices are to limit start-stop events to 10 a day. Any shutdown greater than a minute will result in cost savings,” reads an article on www.familyhandyman.com, adding, “drive greater than five miles (eight kilometres) between start-stop events.”
And if you’re trying to get your car to warm up faster on the cold days, just start driving after less than a minute — as long as you can see out of the windows that is! This will heat up the interior much faster than letting it idle.
So with the exception of diesel engines as well as inefficient and dated gas-powered models that still have carburetors, there really is not a substantiated argument for idling even slightly extended durations.
Unless of course one enjoys burning money and breathing in fumes.
