What Will Reduce Fuel Consumption?

As fuel prices reach an all-time high, fuel consumption is more than ever a concern for everyone. There are, however, ways and useful tools to reduce fuel consumption. Drivers can be mindful of their driving to save fuel. Business owners and fleet managers can invest in solutions like telematics and vehicle tracking to give them great insight into what’s wasting their fuel and to better control fuel usage in general.

What reduces fuel consumption? 

So, what will reduce fuel consumption? There are some ways to reduce fuel consumption and save money. You could watch your driving style, keep the vehicle well-maintained and apply some simple tricks to stop wasting fuel.

Here are the best tips and tricks to manage fuel consumption better.

Tackle bad driving habits 

Sudden acceleration, harsh braking and swerving, speeding, keeping the AC on when it’s not needed – all these poor driving behaviours will waste fuel. 

Train your drivers on what reduces fuel consumption. Coach them to understand and apply safe driving techniques not only to save fuel but for their own safety and for others, too.

How do you know your drivers display poor driving habits on the road, though? Vehicle tracking systems like our own Kinesis telematics solution will show you detailed reports on driving behaviour. It will give you all the information you need to correct any bad driving habits. 

Vehicle tracking is not a solution aimed at large fleets only, small businesses too can benefit from telematics greatly.

Don’t stay idle 

Staying at 0 mph has the worst MPG. Staying idle for a few moments is fine, but if you’re just waiting around for longer periods of time, it’s best to turn the engine off. You’d be surprised how much fuel this could save you.

While it differs depending on the type and size of the engine, idling uses up to half a gallon of fuel per hour. Get into the habit of turning the engine off and save fuel.

Keep your vehicles well maintained 

Did you know that bad spark plugs can reduce your fuel efficiency by 30%? Or that dirty air filters put more pressure on the engine, requiring more fuel? Make sure you replace spark plugs to reduce fuel consumption and avoid other serious issues. Regularly clean the air filters of dirt and dust.

Tyre pressure can also impact fuel efficiency. Underinflated tyres increase drag. Tyre pressure that’s only 10% lower can increase fuel consumption by 2%. It all adds up to higher fuel costs.

Kinesis Pro for vehicle tracking can help you stay on top of any vehicle maintenance works necessary. You get fault code notifications in case any faults or problems arise. 

Moreover, with CAN data you can review important information like braking, speed, revolutions per minute (RPM), fuel consumption, minute-by-minute activity prior to an accident, distance readings, oil pressure, water temperature and idling information.

Check out more vehicle tracking solutions on our website.

Drive in the right gear and use cruise control 

These are two great techniques in the category of what reduces fuel consumption. 

Driving in the wrong gear means your vehicle has to work harder to keep moving. Make sure you’re in the right gear to get the highest fuel efficiency possible.

Use cruise control when driving on the motorway. It will help reduce fuel consumption. But be mindful, that cruise control is best used on flat roads, not in the city or country lanes. Using cruise control in the city could end up using more fuel.

Use telematics 

Using telematics can help you reduce fuel consumption in more ways than you could imagine. 

It will help you track driver behaviour. Easily identify what driving techniques waste you the most fuel and which drivers require training to improve their fuel-efficient driving. 

It can help you optimise your routes and avoid traffic congestion to improve ETAs and reduce fuel consumption. 

It can help you quickly identify engine issues that could impact fuel efficiency.

It also provides accurate MPG reporting available by integrating a fuel card. You get detailed reports that can help to identify the best and worst performing vehicles and drivers. 

Our telematics solutions include fuel card integration. To simplify it, you can also get your fuel cards through Radius. Get an unparalleled picture of fuel spend and vehicle activity.

Contact us now by filling in a quick form or call us at 0800 056 4432 and we’ll get you sorted with the best telematics platform.

Get fuel-efficient vehicles for your fleet 

Some vehicles use less fuel per mile than others, so you don’t have to refill as often. Make sure you get the right kind for your fleet.

In general, bigger vehicles like trucks and vans have lower fuel efficiency. Switching to electric vehicles can prove to be a great solution to reduce fuel consumption. And will prove you run a business that’s mindful of the environment.

It’s also highly encouraged by the government to go green. If the price tag discourages you, try EVs by hiring one. You’ll soon be convinced of the big fuel savings.

Why is fuel saving so important for fleets? 

Putting aside the fact that fuel prices are now skyrocketing worldwide, fleet managers have always been interested in identifying ways to reduce fuel consumption.

Fuel is one of the largest expenses for a fleet. So, reducing fuel consumption also means cutting down operating costs. 

Telematics devices can help you reach up to a 25% decrease in fuel costs. That adds up to great savings in overall costs.

Fuel savings are not important only from a cost perspective, but also to limit harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to ultimately benefit the environment. It also benefits the health of the communities you operate in.

Proving you’re an environmentally friendly company is always a plus for your business image.

Let us help you reduce fuel consumption 

What reduces fuel consumption? A number of factors are all combined together, as we’ve described above. 

But ultimately, telematics devices have been proven to support fleets and businesses save fuel and improve vehicle efficiency a lot.

Let’s get you sorted with the best telematics platform to start saving fuel and benefit from many useful features that will boost your operations and ease the way you manage your fleet.

Send us a message and our expert team of advisers will be happy to help.