Energy-saving driving style

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Energy-efficient driving ( Engl. Energy-efficient driving ) is a mainly in Germany term officially used for an " economical ", so energy-efficient behavior when driving vehicles . On the other hand, the Anglicism Ecodriving and similarly concise short forms can be seen as later word creations that are used in German-speaking countries and internationally.

The term found its way into the political discussion about road traffic in the 1970s at the latest , but not into German law until 1998 with the driver's license regulation . With the entry into force of this ordinance, knowledge of an “environmentally conscious and energy-saving driving style” became a mandatory component of German driver training and driving test for driving motor vehicles from 1999 ; in the law, however, the term is not further elaborated.

The Quality Alliance Eco-Drive was also founded in Switzerland in 1999 in cooperation with the state, transport associations and the private sector to promote ecological, economical and safe driving in Switzerland. The name Eco-Drive was previously a word mark registered by the Federal Office of Energy and includes a number of recommendations on the vehicle and driving style. The success of the program prompted the responsible federal agency to integrate Eco-Drive into compulsory driver training in Switzerland from 2005.

As early as 1980 in Austria, the ÖAMTC started the campaign gliding instead of rushing for steady and anticipatory driving in road traffic. The concise slogan led to public discussions right from the start, but ultimately also to its adoption in various areas of advertising .

In addition to motorized road traffic as the dominant traffic system , the term is also used for rail traffic. So called energy-efficient driving (ESF) a developed jointly over several years with the University of Hannover concept of Deutsche Bahn , which it from 2003 in its computer scheduling system EBuLa recorded, which began operations back in turn in the 1980s. There are also competing systems, but under different names.

While activities and concepts for an energy-saving driving style only started after the oil crisis and went hand in hand with the newly emerging environmental policy , its principles have accompanied the development of the various types of vehicle much earlier and probably from the beginning. They limit themselves moreover, not on motor vehicles for which the decades in cycling established Belgian gyroscope is one example.

Basics

Energy flow diagram using the example of a new US mid-range car in city ​​traffic (above) and on the highway (below), each based on an internal combustion engine . Note the speed limits in the USA . It is not difficult to recognize the engine efficiency as the greatest source of loss, which, although only marginally avoidable in the internal combustion engine, is the greatest source of savings alongside idling in the city and the highway speed.
Source: United States Department of Energy .

Physical starting points for an energy-saving driving style result from the resistance that every vehicle has to overcome when moving, as well as from the thermal energy losses of the energy used when it is converted into kinetic energy . These basically apply to all types of vehicles, not just land vehicles , but also air and water vehicles . They can not only be influenced while driving, but also before the start of the journey when preparing the vehicle, which is generally added to the energy-saving driving style. The choice of vehicle or mode of transport, however, is not one of them.

Loss area Can be
influenced while driving		 Can be
influenced before departure
Air resistance Speed
→ as low as possible 		Aerodynamics
→ as good as possible
roof rack
→ if possible not
Rolling resistance Speed
→ as low as possible 		Tire condition
→ as good as possible
tire pressure
→ as high as possible
load
→ as small as possible
Energy efficiency Gear ratio (“gear”)
→ as high as possible,
thus speed
→ low (“low-speed” )
and torque
→ relatively high 		Engine condition
→ as good as possible
Braking losses Brake usage
→ as low as possible ("anticipatory") 		-
No-load losses Engine operation when stationary →
switch off if possible
Idle operation while driving
→ avoid if possible (use "engine brake") 		Idle speed
→ as low as possible
Inertia losses Load change through
speed change
→ as evenly as possible ("anticipatory") 		-
Additional consumers
( air conditioning , lights, audio systems, etc.)		 Avoid use
→ if possible 		if necessary device choice
→ poss. efficient
Note: The statements apply in principle to all land vehicles , but in some cases are primarily aimed at drivers (audio system, roof rack, tire pressure, etc.)

activities

The measures to be derived from this for the driver depend not insignificantly on the vehicle used and its motorization and other equipment, for example on the presence and type of vehicle transmission and a recuperation brake . With an increasing number of gears in the gearbox, the engine speed can be better adapted, but the efficiency of the gearbox itself decreases. The presence and execution of an engine brake , which is generally an extended functionality of the engine in trucks and buses . Technical measures can support or replace the behavior of the driver, for example the automatic shutdown of the engine when stationary or a cruise control .

Government agencies and associations, based on their goals explained below, provide tips and detailed information, especially at motorists. There, as well as according to legal requirements in driver training and driving license tests , a "low-speed" and "steady" driving style and the avoidance of " full throttle " are propagated today , while in the last century, before manifold injection displaced the carburetor , the term "medium speed" was popular was because internal combustion engines generally have the highest torque in them .

Basis: consumption map

Also, the switching off of the motor in the state is advertised, because this offers an easily achievable potential for savings and the biggest one besides the increase in energy efficiency through low speeds. In addition, the advice is widespread that a tire pressure that is too low should be avoided in any case and even increased compared to the recommended pressure in order to reduce rolling resistance and tire wear. Ultimately, the actual savings mainly depend on the extent to which the vehicle drivers make recommended behaviors a habit through practice .

See: Practical tips for vehicle drivers under web links

aims

The public measures focus almost exclusively on drivers , i.e. those involved in motorized individual transport ( drivers , motorcyclists , etc.) as well as professional drivers , because this is where the greatest effects can be achieved for the desired goals, both because of its current dominance in the modal split and because of it the greatest potential for savings in individual cases. The efficiency of Otto engines ranges from 10% at part load to almost 40% under full load , whereas the range between part and full load and thus the potential for savings by optimizing the speed is comparatively lower , especially with electric motors , i.e. especially in rail transport is.

The intentions of the bodies or the state advocating energy-saving driving are of a socio-political nature, especially an improvement in the areas

In addition to this public benefit for the general public, there are also private advantages for the operator or user of a vehicle. They derive a personal benefit from their behavior as well as indirect profit through reduced costs . Your goals can be in the

The latter includes not only energy consumption but also other consumption, wear and tear and loss of value .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The best example is the word mark Eco-Drive of the Swiss association Quality Alliance Eco-Drive, which is supported by the Federal Office of Energy .
  2. ↑ German Bundestag, 156th session, May 30, 1979. (PDF; 1.2 MB) Plenary minutes. May 31, 1979, p. 12489 , accessed on February 25, 2013 : "Mahne, Parl. State Secretary: (...) In coordination with the Federal Association of Driving Instructors' Associations, we have achieved that the driving instructors focus on the subject of energy-saving driving as part of the content of driver training will do. At its meeting on energy policy on May 16, the federal government also passed a corresponding resolution. "
  3. ↑ 2. National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) of the Federal Republic of Germany. (PDF; 1.8 MB) (No longer available online.) July 2011, p. 66 (PDF 65) , archived from the original on September 7, 2012 ; Retrieved on February 25, 2013 : "M 66: Campaign" New Driving "(...) As early as 1999, the federal government stipulated the basics of energy-saving driving for driver training and driving license tests in the driving license ordinance." Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (See National Energy Efficiency Action Plans .)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmwi.de
  4. ↑ According to an unconfirmed secondary source , the then chairman of Dekra , Klaus Schmidt, declared on September 12, 2007 at a press conference at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt that "environmentally friendly and energy-saving driving has (already) been part of driver training since 1992" .
  5. ↑ So in § 2 Paragraph 5 No. 4 and § 6 Paragraph 1 No. 1 lit. f of the Road Traffic Act as well as Section 16, Paragraph 1, No. 1 and Section 17, Paragraph 1, Clause 1 of the Driving License Ordinance .
  6. ↑ a b EcoDriver know how. (PDF; 910 kB) Brochure. P. 19 , accessed February 12, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Explanation of energy-saving driving style (ESF) ( memento from October 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) in the "Bahn-Lexikon" at eib-t.de .
  8. ↑ Deutsche Bahn itself also operates the Ecotrainbook system ; other systems were developed primarily by Swiss companies.
  9. ↑ From an energy point of view, motor vehicles. Technical information. In: Internet presence of the Free University of Berlin . Retrieved March 1, 2013 .