While it’s been a debate for many years if it is better to idle or turn your car off, according to the California Energy Commission with today’s technology you should turn your car off if you are running it for more than 10 seconds.
Minimizing car idling will result in various environmental benefits for you and your community as well. It will help cut down on hazardous air pollution and emit less GHGs emissions from your vehicle that contribute to climate change. It will also help you save gas.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund for every 10 minutes your engine is off, you prevent one pound of CO2 from being released. If you turn your car off when you’re not moving for 10 minutes a day, you can save about 19 gallons of gas per year, which these days results in about $100 a year.
This might not seem like much, but when adding up all the idling cars on the road it’s quite significant. According to Argonne National Laboratory, more than 6 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel combined are lost to idling every year. This results in about $20 billion dollars wasted!
Common places to idle include drive through lines for fast food, pharmacies and banks. Consider turning your car off next time instead of idling (or better yet, consider parking and walking inside!). School pick up lines are another common place to idle, which is extra important to avoid for health issues: Emissions are more concentrated near the grounds, affecting the quality of air that kids and school staff breathe. There is an exception however, because of safety issues continue to idle when in traffic - don’t turn off your car.
Being mindful of your idling habits is another simple action that adds up in a big way!
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