The cost of hypermiling
 

I've spent about 2 1/2 years honing my driving habits to minimize fuel consumption - first in a Grand Cherokee Limited, now in a Land Rover LR3 HSE. Admittedly, not the first vehicles to come to mind when thinking about fuel efficiency (except in a negative way). They're owned by my company. But I've gotten much higher than EPA ratings in both vehicles - I'm currently at 21 m.p.g. in the LR3.

The problem is, as detailed at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....5/so-what.html and at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....i-thought.html, the time expenditure of this type of driving this way is huge. It amounts to a week of vacation each year, and the avoided cost of fuel doesn't come near the amount my company pays me for the time lost. Now I'm on salary and get all my work done, so the company doesn't REALLY pay for it - I do. So I have to look at it as a hobby. But the fact is, when you run the numbers (I did so for the Cherokee at http://hamiltonianfunction.blogspot....est-speed.html), it turns out that for most situations on the highway, if your time is worth much, speeding is better.

For information, my commute is a little over 60 miles per day round trip, about 80% on Southern California freeways.

I've tried using the mobile phone and my assistant, learning Mandarin from podcasts, etc. but the fact is, I'm most productive sitting at my desk or meeting with clients. Dr. Steven Dutch (great bunch of pages by the way) comes to a similar conclusion regarding public transportation at http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/MassTransit.HTM.

In any case, it's a fun hobby, but the economics don't pan out, at least in my vehicle.

My first comment would be to get a shorter commute! :)

I don't have a commute now, but when I lived in japan for a short period I had about ~hour commute by bike and train, and loved it, because I could take some time to think, be without obligation, and even work if I wanted to, which is something I don't get much of. Personally, I'd prolly be unsatisfied trying to be as productive as possible, so I often welcome that kind of stress-free down time...but mehbe that's because I'm often too busy. :p

How's mandarin learning going?

Slowly! Yes, a smaller car, a shorter commute, no question. I agree that the downtime can be therapeutic, but in this production oriented society, many will sacrifice the m.p.g.'s for the $/hr.

Just sayin'

I always enjoyed public transportation because you can relax; be it talking to people, reading, thinking, or meditating. I don't think you could pay me enough to make a one hour commute daily in a car, alone.

Well, apparently you can pay me enough ;)

I really wish I could take public transportation. In Chicago, it was reasonable. Here, I'd have to take the Metrolink from Anaheim to downtown L.A., then the "Green Line" from there to about two miles from my office. From there, I could bus to within a few hundred yards of my office, or have someone pick me up. All told, it would cost as much and take several hours.

PA32R -

If I took public transportation, I think it would take like 2.5 hours one-way with all the links. Not viable unless I could get over half of my work done on the way. I think they have "working commuter" trains in Europe (Sweden?!?!) with full Internet access to the office. Does the Metrolink offer something like that?

In the old days, I would drive 7+ miles to Fox Hills Mall, park, and bus the other 7+ miles into UCLA. I think that was a good compromise because I missed the "hard" Westwood traffic and could relax/study/sleep on the way.

But I wouldn't feel safe computing on a bus.

CarloSW2

The easiest answer is;

Results may vary .. personally, the cost of hypermiling to me has been this;

-10 extra minutes each way on a 120 mile round trip daily drive
-So far saving 1-1/2 tanks of gas a month and climbing
-Funny enough, my blood pressure has stabilized to normal
-My sugar levels have returned to normal

***I have turned others on to saving gas and money on speeding tickets***

I attribute those changes to the reduced stress of having to dodge traffic all the way to work and rubber necking for cops on 1-95.

So while you may known that you have wasted away a vacation by driving slower, I'm sure if I continue this I'll live long enough to take more.

So I feel your pain in having to make the decision you have, but weigh in all your benefits too, not just the $$ savings. No sense in making it if you cant spend it ya know ... GL to ya

Woo GC's! Welcome to EM!

We didn't become a "production" oriented society because of the boss people ;) Those working decide that :)

You mentioned you're on salary, so this applies very much so to you... Time is money as the saying goes... But, what time is money? Obviously, not all of your time can equate to money. If you're getting your work done, then that additional time is essentially unpaid work you're doing - time is money, and it flows in both directions.

So even if it translates to a week of vacation - you can't use it, the timing is all wrong :p

trikkonceptz -

Thank you for putting it that way. I don't have the "speed DNA". It's less stressful for me to drive 55 or below. When you take into account the waste of "speeding into traffic jams", it all evens out for me.

CarloSW2

Sometimes it not about the money. 10 minutes and 41 seconds a day. Good grief. What if you significant other has a problem or the waitress at dinner loses your check and you lose 3 minutes how does that work. Or lets just say you are walking down the street and see some birds doing a dance you want to see. Life is to short to figure it out to 10 minutes a day. Your mileage may very. (YMMV)

Well said Lazarus.

The direct cost savings via fuel for driving slower aren't as attractive, if at all, when the individual in question makes ~10-20+/hour, however given that traffic accidents are the top when it comes down to accidental fatalities, that a vehicle traveling 75mph compared to 55mph needs nearly twice as much room to stop, and that a significant amount of traffic is caused by accidents, be them serious or fender benders, I wonder if on average, having people drive safely/slowly would really cost more in terms of time/money than what occurs daily on CA freeways.

For instance, the average driver supposedly spends an extra one to three days per year in traffic, most of which is allegedly caused by accidents. For every hour they spend in that traffic, they pay an extra ~$3 due to fuel cost increase. Course, this doesn't include the cost of accidents, so... Whether or not it still makes sense still depends on how much ya make. But for the average American at ~$10/hour it may be a losing proposition, especially for those in areas w/ lots of congestion. :thumbup:

All of the above is true, and I do continue to drive at about 54 m.p.h. The point is that there are costs associated with it. Putting it monetary terms brings it into perspective. It really is 40 hours per year since it's not 10 minutes and 41 seconds every now and again but rather every work day. So, those forty hours could be spent with my significant other, or watching birds, or milling parts for a steam engine, or working on a proof for the Riemann hypothesis, or......

I don't get paid for my commute, so it doesn't cost me anything to spend an additional few minutes a day getting there and back. I spend far more time sitting in traffic idling my gas away from accidents/congestion than I do by driving slower.

Today for example: storms yesterday left wet/flooded roads so there was a rash of accidents on and closed auxiliary roads from the highway I take as well as a pro-golf tournament at the intersection of the 2 highways I take. Distance: 23 miles. Time: 1 hour 30 minutes. How much money did I "lose" today? I lost my lunch break to make up for the extra hour it took to get to work. I had an accident last year in stop and go traffic that cost me a week's car rental.

Traffic will always literally cost me more directly than driving slower on open roads ever could in an ancillary way. At least I'm saving money for the next accident waiting to happen.

Well, what else do you do every day that wastes 10 minutes? Stop doing that and your back to even! or get up 20 minutes earlier and you get a bonus week of vacation!;)
I have a 50.5km commute each way that takes about 35-40 minutes driving "normally" (ie trying to go 100km/h, passing people, getting angry, etc...)or about 45-50 minutes striving for efficiency. I find I am much more relaxed when I get to work after hypermiling and it gives me something to do while driving. I chose to live out in the sticks so I might as well make the most of it and I save about $2.00/day which equals a nice shotgun or some other toy.

Also, if you can, pulse and glide to a higher average speed, do 70 to 50mph, you still save gas than driving a steady 60mph bored out of your skull.
Ian

I can see hypermiling adding a bit of wear to the car , like a little added wear on the clutch, from added use, and maybe less life of the starter if your shutting down the motor more often.

As for time, the add to my 30 mile commute is minimal and I don't make huge cash so it well worth my added minutes to save on fuel. My time is vary valuable to me and don't have enough but I use drive time to ponder and just take in the nature around me.

I don't disagree, obviously, since I continue to drive in that fashion and have for the last two years and eight months. My point is that there's more to the choice than "do I want to save gas or do I want to drive fast." Many web sites dedicated to saving fuel will say "the time lost is negligible." I'm just opining that it isn't necessarily negligible and that we (those of us who drive slowly to save fuel) are making a multi-dimensional choice. I'm not complaining, I've put my time where my mouth is.

By the way, since time=money and knowledge=power, knowing that power=work/time and substituting, knowledge=work/money. Solving for money, we see that money=work/knowledge. Therefore, money increases without limit as knowledge goes to zero.

In case you were all wondering...

Monetary value doesn't put much perspective on it, for me at least. Summing them up just makes it seem as if it were more usable time.... If you're milling parts for a steam engine... How well does that work when the available time is incredibly small? I mean, when I'm tinkering, I take a couple+ hours (I enjoy it)... I personally couldn't break that up into 10 minute chunklets - the creative juices don't flow that way :D

Watching birds and spending time with loved ones - sure... But what's the cost if it's more stressful? I personally am not fun to hang around when I come home stressed out - my other half isn't going to appreciate a sixth of an hour more time for someone that's not happy :p

Quality over quantity ;)

I am impressed that you have been driving that way for so long, it takes dedication for sure.
I have to disagree with your equation though, as I am not anywhere near a millionaire...
I guess since you are driving an air plow (my SUV is as well) maybe the highspeed pulse and glide won't work well but give it a shot, it will keep you occupied for the rest of the week anyways!
I got 6.5L/100km doing this, this morning doing my 50.5km in 42 minutes with the Peon. Maybe tomorrow I'll try just going for 80km/h all the way and see what the difference is.

Clearly you still know too much. Think "Bill Gates...."

Trying anyway. ;)

I think the argument that your time is worth more than the fuel is fallacious. The simple fact is, unless you've got some incredible pay package, you've never been paid for your commuting time. That's your time. Time you earn money for doesn't start until you arrive at work, and ends when you leave. You want the job where it is, then driving that distance, spending that time is your choice. How you spend it is up to you. There is no money involved - just the money you burn, and the time in which you do it.

In a way, you're right. It's not possible to come up with a precise conversion factor for time to money, except if you're paid hourly. I'm on salary and my tasks are delineated, not my time. That being said, it's based on a certain amount per year and an assumed amount of hours. So, that is the only proxy I have with which to work. That amount is sufficient to cause me to stop doing stuff I enjoy on my own time, leave my family and set off to work. So, in a sense, it's how I value my time.

DRIVE FAST, TAKE CHANCES!!!:thumbup:HA

I guess it's different for you since you're on salary (I'm still paid by the hour that I'm there) but I know for me, I would much rather go to bed, say, 1 hour earlier and wake up a little earlier to save 10MPG on my commute to work and spend a little longer getting there because, while I'm saving at least 160miles of gas per tank, the rest of those people rushing are doing what....sleeping....great, I can sleep at another time, I'll save my money now...

(sorry hope that made sense, I couldn't really put that idea down as clearly as I wanted to)

In 2001, when I was finishing up college, I had to take one final course to graduate. The only way I could take it during summer term was by commuting to another college. I believe it was an hour and fifteen each way, four or five days per week. I didn't have a job and I had very little in the bank. The gas was definitely worth more than my time. I had a 95 Jetta GLS which typically got around 25 to 28mpg for me. I had to take an extra 15 to 20 minutes each day and drive with the AC off, and the windows and sunroof barely cracked to maximize my gas money. If I just pretended that I was relaxing in a moving sauna, it wasn't that bad (the sweat would dry eventually and my deoderant was effective :thumbup:). The thing I realized was that if I had 15 extra minutes each day, it would be nice to spend them sitting and relaxing in a sauna. So yeah, that was how my extra 15 minutes of driving time turned into vacation time, and I didn't even have a job.;)

Oh yeah, and after calculating 4 times to confirm it, I felt pretty bad-ass for getting 38mpg on one tank.:cool:

On my 45 mile each way commute, if I am going 70 mph, I can get to work in about 45 minutes. If I am driving 50-55 mph, it takes me about an hour each way, depending on whether I stop somewhere along the way. Mileage at the faster speed is in the low 30s, at the slower speed I have gotten as high as 43 mpg. Or, 19/26 if I drive the Cad. Use the extra time to listen to audiobooks, NPR or Pacifica radio.

my cost and time
 

I commute roughly the same distance about 62 miles round trip and do not see a huge difference in my time on the road. Maybe 15 min total for the day.

Admittedly, im not driving super slow. I do around 60 on the high way which is 1/3 of the trip and about 50 on a suburban route with 2 traffic lights (another 1/3 of my trip)

I have been consistently getting between 19 and 20 MPG with My Jeep Cherokee sport. This is well above EPA.

I just removed the roof rack cross bars to see how that effects MPG.

I was going to mention the safety aspect as well; one person mentioned low blood pressure too.
We're all cruising around with $2000+ of seat belts, crumple zones, and airbags in our cars, and they work a heck of a lot better if you're going slower if you actually get in an accident!
The cost of healthcare can be expensive, and relaxing helps everything from Blood pressure to your immune system, and can make you more enjoyable to be around when you're out of the car. I've noticed these effects as well.

I really enjoyed reading your calculation of this on your blog, however. For the everyday person, energy efficiency has to be cost effective for them to even think about changing their routine or normal energy sources.

My wife and I pay a slightly higher rate for electricity at our home so our utility purchases renewable energy credits from midwest wind farms equal to our usage. My dad thinks I'm getting scammed, but I think it's worth paying an extra $5-7 a month to prepare infrastructure for problems down the road. If kids only listened to all the preaching their science teachers do like I did when I was a kid...

So when did hypermiling (or driving for good mpg) get to be JUST about driving slower? I don't drive particularly slowly, at least on 2-lane roads with curves. (On a freeway I'm probably going at the same speed as the semi I'm following: where's the fun in going fast if there're no curves?) But I get pretty good mpg (avg 70.2 over the last 5 years/75K miles) because I drive smoothly, use gravity to go faster on the downhills, don't race up to red lights, etc.

Most people calculate "what their time is worth" by their hourly or weekly rate. I don't see anybody calculating it on what they get to keep after taxes. Finding out that you are keeping only 50-60% of what you think "your time is worth" might be a wake-up call in more ways than one.

That's because taxes are a fixed expense, like mortgage, car insurance, etc. It was already figured in.

Taxes are not exactly fixed, earn more, pay a higher percentage. Also, I only get to buy stuff with my after tax money, so my decision process on wether to buy something uses my after tax hourly rate. This makes many things seem more unneccessary, like speeding! By hypermiling I do only save $3 a day and that works out to like 10min of work but its also better for me and the environment and I get to brag to my Honda snob friends that my old carppy neon is spanking them in fuel economy:D
Ian

Consider another safety aspect: if you're hypermiling, you're paying attention to your driving, not e.g. yakking on a cell phone. Don't have an exact figure, but an awful lot of auto accidents seem to be caused by drivers simply not paying attention.