Save Money, Save Energy

The economy is struggling as are most Americans right along with it. We are looking for different ways to save some money. Whether it is cutting down on driving the car to save on gas, clipping coupons, or reusing items more than once, everyone is doing their own part to save a few bucks on the bottom line.

One of the areas you can save some money on right now is energy costs. When I say energy I mean a combination of electrical, heating, ac, and water usage. Adding in small savings from all of these areas could add up to big savings.

Electrical is the easiest to save some money on. Without spending thousands of dollars on a solar panel system for your roof tops, here are some more realistic approaches you can implement right now to help save on costs. First replace your incandescent light bulbs with CFLs in the rooms that you use the most. The federal government has shown that this can save up to $120 per year in savings on electrical costs. Remember to unplug all appliances that are not in use. Many appliances still draw power even though you are not using them. The easiest option is to plug you appliances into a surge protector outlet strip and then shut off the strip to ensure no power is being drawn.

Regardless of whether you have a gas clothes dryer or one that runs off electric, a clothes dryer uses large amounts of energy that cost a whole bunch of money. During the warmer months use a clothes line. I read one estimate where savings for the average household that uses a clothesline over a clothes dryer topped $750 for the year. Now I won't say you will save that much, but then again depending on how often you use the dryer, you could save more.

Staying with our clothes theme, let's turn to your washer. Most of the energy used by a washer occurs when the water is being heated. Drop the hot was cycles and choose cold. Many detergents today are engineered to work in colder temperatures for this reason. Also choose the correct water level. There is no need to select extra large if you are doing a medium sized load.

When it comes to heating and air conditioning there are some easy steps you can take to help reduce costs. For instance in the winter time drop your heat a degree or two at night when you go to bed and when no one is home. No sense in heating the home if no one is there. Invest in a good programmable thermostat so you can program your house temperatures that are convenient to you and your family. Same goes for AC in the summertime. When no one is home raise the temperature so the AC is not cooling a house as often when it is empty. If you do not have central AC, make sure you get the right size window or room unit for where it will be used. You wouldn't buy a 50,000 BTU window unit for a 9x9 room. You get the point.

These are just a few of the many ways you can make alterations to your current lifestyle and save money in the process. Overall these tasks won't take more than a few minutes of your time, but the monetary savings will be well worth it.

About the Author
Bruce Tucker is a contributing writer to Indocquent, an online advertising and social networking medium where you can promote your business, products and services for sale and hire throughout the world without pay-per-click prices or auction fees. You can also follow him on Twitter

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bruce_A._Tucker

By Bruce A. Tucker

Squeeze More Life From Your Battery With a Rejuvenator

Let's face it, everyone's battery eventually dies. This is a normal process that starts from the day the electrolyte first touches the lead plates inside the casing. You may be able to revive or extend it's life with an add on rejuvenator battery charger device. This device is also known as a desulfator.

Sulfation is the number one reason that lead acid batteries are discarded. This is a natural process where the sulfuric acid within the electrolyte reacts with the lead plates. This reaction causes the plates to slowly be coated with sulfate . This creates a loss of efficiency and therefore will not charge as easily. Eventually this process will cause batteries not to accept a charge therefore called "dead" and taken to the recycler.

There is a device that can possibly bring life back to your deceased power pack. This device can rejuvenate your battery by reversing the sulfation process as long as the cells are not shorted or burst. You may be able to extend the working life of your batt by using this device as well.

A rejuvenating, or desulfating , device uses an electronic process to reverse the sulfation. This device is not an actual charger itself, but is used in line with your charger. You can use it with an AC charger or even a solar battery charger.

Although you can use this process for a battery that has already come to the end of its life it may not be the best use. The best practice for these devices is to use them in a preventative mode. In other words use this device during times of non use of your vehicle. This unit works great with your motorcycle, RV, lawn mower or other motorized toy that that may sit for a while.

The greatest thing about a rejuvenator is that it can extend the life of your battery. It may be possible that it will also revive a dead one as well. Either way this means you get more value out of your battery.

You'll need a good charger for this process to work. Learn more about which Schumacher automatic battery charger is right for you go to http://www.autobatterychargersonline.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stone_Dupree

By Stone Dupree

Fountain Parts - Cleaning, Care For and the Differences in Fountain Parts

I recommend everyone that has a Misting Fountain, uses Mist Maker parts, and many Waterfall Fountain users, to read and print out this page for future reference. This article will help increase the life of your Mist Maker and Mist Fountain. Some of what you will find on this page include, but is not limited to:

- How to clean all fountain parts, mist maker fog units, LED lights, ceramic replacement discs and fountain bowls

- the difference in AC power adapters. The type/output DOES make a difference in how much mist your fountain creates.

- DC power adapter info

- How to clean your Ceramic Replacement Disc [or disk] with or without a keytool

- which Ceramic Discs are the best [not just size, but color too]

- Using Scented Oils and/or Essential Oils in your Misting Fountain OR Waterfall

Everyone calls a Mist Fountain and a mist unit [fogger, mister, mist maker] by different names. For our mutual benefit we'll address them as follows:

- a Fountain is the whole thing - the fountain stand, fountain bowl, ceramic disc, mist maker unit, power adapter - all of it together make a Mist Fountain.

MISTING UNIT or MIST MAKER w/ LED ROTATING LIGHTS

- some call this a fogger, mist maker, fog maker, fog unit, or mister. This fountain part sits in the bottom of a Fountain Bowl. It has a row of LED lights around the edge, and a ceramic disc in the middle. We call this entire part, with a 16mm or 20mm ceramic disc in it, a Mist Maker or Mist Unit

- There is a Standard Mist Maker that has 12 LED lights but does NOT have an inline controller and usually comes with a 16mm ceramic disc, but some have the 20mm disc in them.

- Another Mist Maker Unit is the 16 Mode Inline Control Unit with 3 Speeds. You can adjust the colors to all red, all blue, all yellow, ect, or adjust them to rotate all the colors, or just the blue and yellow, or just red and blue, and so on. The 3 speeds adjust the rotation from a slow fade to a strobe effect. The 16 mode Inline Control Mist Maker may or may not come with a wireless controller that allows you to sit on the couch and change the colors such as changing channels on your tv.

AC POWER ADAPTER TRANSFORMERS

- supplies the power to your Mist Unit and your Fountain

- Standard Current AC Adapters

To identify your adapter, look at the label on the back of it

INPUT: 110V - 120V 60Hz

OUTPUT: AC 24V [beside of the 24V will be a number between 500 and 1200 which is the strength of the output of the adapter]

Which Power Adapter To Use With Which Mist Maker

- IF your ac adapter is at least a 750m, it is the proper strength to work with a Mist Maker with an Inline Controller, 3 Speeds and 20mm Ceramic Disc. The higher output [higher the number] your adapter has, the more mist your fountain will create. So if you have an AC Adapter with 1000m output AND your mist maker uses a 20mm ceramic disc, you will get awesome misting effects!

- When manufacturers make AC Adapters and Mist Maker Units, they make them TOGETHER, to work TOGETHER. So if you have a 900m or 1000m output, but you replace your mist maker, you may notice a little decrease in the amount of mist you achieve.

- If you have an ac power adapter with an "OUTPUT" of 500m, 550m, 600m or 650m, you need to use the Standard Mist Unit with NO inline controller

- To use the 16 mode Inline Control Mist Maker, you need an AC power adapter with an OUTPUT of at least 750m.

Other high AC ADAPTER OUTPUTS include: 830, 900, 950, 1000, OR 1200, are compatible with the 16 mode Inline Control Mistmaker with 3 speeds whether it has the wireless controller with it or not. If your ac adapter has an OUTPUT of 24v 500 - 700, IT WILL WORK ONLY A SHORT TIME with a 16 mode Mist Maker Unit with Inline Control, or a Misting Unit that has a Wireless Controller. One of these mist makers MAY work for 2 months, or a month, or a week, or not at all if the ac adapter OUTPUT isn't high enough [which means it is not strong enough for the mist maker].

AC/DC POWER ADAPTER TRANSFORMERS

Look at your power adapter where the label is. Look a few lines down where the INPUT AND OUTPUT is listed.

An AC/DC ADAPTER will list something similiar to this....

INPUT: AC120V 60Hz

OUTPUT: DC24.0V 800mA

This adapter WILL NOT WORK with regular misting units. The proper mist maker must be made to work with DC power. This simply means that it changes over from House Current [AC] to Battery Current [DC] If you try to use a DC power adapter with an AC mist maker, it might work for 30 minutes, or maybe a week, but more than likely it will burn your mist maker up within a few minutes.

If you do have, or purchase, an AC/DC Power Adapter and Mistmaker unit, they will work with any Misting Fountain as long as you use the Mist Maker that is for an AC/DC Adapter.

- If you have an AC/DC Power Adapter and can't find an AC/DC compatible mist maker unit, you can replace BOTH adapter and mist unit with regular ac powered parts

- Find DC Power Adapter and the DC Mist Maker Units on our Fountain Parts page. These are for indoor use, you just can't mix the 2 together. Our AC/DC powered combo is a very good choice if you are looking for a mistmaker and adapter and want the MIST ONLY, and lots of it.

JUST A COUPLE MISTING FACTS

- IF all your LED lights work on your mist maker but you have no mist- your First Step should be to change the ceramic disc

- If you have NO Mist and NO Lights

- you need a Mist Maker OR

- you need an AC adapter OR

- you need both the AC Adapter and the Mist Maker Unit OR

- make sure the power outlet you have your fountain plugged into works!

NEVER touch the [top] flat sides of the disc with your fingertips.

#1 reason why a mist unit is not misting correctly is because you have touched the disc with your fingertips, cleaned with an abrasive soap, or scratched the disc with something.

#2 reason why a mist unit is not misting correctly is due to improper cleaning of the ceramic replacement disc, mist maker unit, or even your fountain bowl.

CERAMIC REPLACEMENT DISCS

NEVER TOUCH THE DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS- I can't stress that enough, but I hear of peple touching the disc and then they call me wanting to know why the New Ceramic Disc they just ordered from me doesn't work! My first question is always "DID YOU TOUCH THE DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS?" 95% of the time, that is the answer I get. So one more time DO NOT TOUCH THE CERAMIC REPLACEMENT DISC WITH YOUR FINGERS !

- the oils from your fingertips can ruin your replacement disc, a new disc or old one. The DISC is what makes the mist!

- Best way to clean the disc - take it out of the mist unit IF you have a key tool. [see below]

A good replacement ceramic discs come with a black rubber protective washer around the disc. Place a soft paper towel between your fingers/hand and the new disk to remove the protective black rubber. ...let the towel be between your fingers and disc at all times. The solid white side goes facing UP toward you.

IF YOU HAVE A KEY TOOL FOR DISC REMOVAL

A keytool comes with all new replacement Discs [or it should, if one doesn't come with the disk, then DON'T buy it!]. Don't touch the disc with your bare hands! but take the disc out of the mist unit carefully using the key tool

- Touch only the outer edges of your ceramic disc.

- Wet a cotton swab or soft cloth with gentle soap and water and clean both sides of the disc.

- Take the disc out occasionally to clean it IF you have a key tool for that purpose

- clean the top of the disc regularly [see below]

- Completely dry the ceramic disc before putting back into mist unit.

DO NOT try to take the disc out with anything but the key tool

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A KEY TOOL

- Wet a cotton swab with gentle soap and water

- GENTLY clean the top of the disc.

- Do Not touch the top of the replacement disc with anything else, especially your fingertips

- the oil from your fingertips can damage the disc...then it will not mist.

Clean the disc weekly if used daily for best results.

Different Sizes and Colors of Ceramic Replacement Discs

-16mm disc -about the size of a dime when IN the mist unit

-20mm disk -about the size of a nickel when IN the mist unit

-20mm discs create more mist than the 16mm

- Replacement discs come in different colors - gold or silver color or white

The white discs are a bit better replacement discs. With proper care they will work a bit better and last a bit longer.

CLEANING THE MIST UNIT-FOG MAKER UNIT

- Wet a cotton swab with gentle soap and water.

- GENTLY clean around each of the LED lights around the outer edge of the Mist Maker Unit.

- Clean the ceramic disc while you are at it

OR LIKE THIS

- You can put the mist maker unit in a bowl of soapy water to clean it and clean it same as above. Be Careful! I've broke one of the LED lights off when cleaning the mist maker unit. I really wanted to get that baby clean! But I used that mist unit and the same disc for at least 6 more months, everyday!

like that dude from Ripleys......... Believe It ...... Or Not!

CLEANING YOUR FOUNTAIN BOWL, MIST UNIT, AND DISC TOGETHER

YOU MUST Keep the water and the Fountain Bowl clean. Everyone's home environment is different, so adjust your cleaning times accordingly.

The easiest way to clean your fountain bowl is in your kitchen sink.

- Run soapy water in sink

- unplug adapter from the wall and mist unit

- You may want to dip some water out of the bowl before lifting the bowl out of the fountain stand

- Carefully pick your bowl up and out of the fountain stand and carry to the sink.

- Dump the dirty water out

- put your bowl and mist unit in the dish water - keep end of cord out of water!

- wash it - use cotton swabs for mist unit and disc

- dry with soft cloth

- put fountain back together

- add clean water to bowl

- Enjoy

White Rings Around Your Found Bowl?

Now the folks that are suppossed to know about these things say DO NOT USE DISTILLED WATER IN YOUR FOUNTAIN! They say that you do need some minerals in the water to make your fountain function correctly.

So, when you get that white ring around your fountain bowl that is caused by Mineral Deposits In The Water [and you will get it] clean it off like this.....

- Use white Vinegar to remove any rings or stains from your fountain bowl caused by mineral deposits. Take a clean cloth and place it over the top of a bottle of white vinegar. Now turn the bottle upside down to get the cloth wet with vinegar. Use that vinegar soaked cloth and wipe the white ring off your fountain bowl. It is simple and efficient.

I personally use regular tap water, aka city water in all my fountains.

USING SCENTED OILS IN A MIST FOUNTAIN

- I Do Not Recommend Using Scented Oils in a Misting Fountain, [simply because many people use too much oilsand don't change water, or clean the mist maker and ceramic disc as often as they should when using scented oils] but many people do and it is a great way to use your fountain as a Fragrance Diffuser in your home. BUT, Use Lightweight Oils ONLY. You must change the water, clean your fountain bowl, mist maker unit, and ceramic replacement disc more often if you use oils in your fountain.

- Use ONLY a couple drops oil per clean bowl of water. You will clog your mist unit up and/or the ceramic disc with too much oil. That is not saying you can add a couple drops of oil each time you add water! It means only one or two drops each time you dump all the water out of your fountain bowl and clean all the parts as instructed above. Then fill your fountain bowl back up with clean water, then add one or two drops of scented Fragrance Oils - Lightweight Oils ONLY - like those found on MyFountainDesigns Custom Blend Fragrance Oils Page.

HOWEVER, Real Essential Oils can be added as desired

I hope this will help you with your Misting fountains and your Mist Fountain Parts. I have used and sold the Mist Fountains and Parts for 5 years and everything you have read has been personally tried, experimented, and found to be fail safe when following these instructions.

Take Care, Rock On and above all God Bless all who read this

I am Sandara and I opened S&L Marketing in 2005 where I created and designed MyFountainDesigns.com. I stock all my own Indoor Fountains, parts, Electric Oil Warmers and Custom Mix my own Scented Oils. I am also an Onaya Fragrance Lamp and Fuel Distributor and keep plenty in stock, right here on Paradise Mountain in the hills of Appalachia

http://www.MyFountainDesigns.com
http://www.MyFountainDesigns.com/Fountain_Parts.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sandara_Blanton

By Sandara Blanton

Chilling Air With Whirlpool Air Conditioners

The ever changing lifestyle has helped to increase the demand of whirlpool air conditioners in today's time. The Indian marketplace itself is flooding with varied brands and diverse models of best air conditioners. Buyers are looking for exceptional quality and competitive prices, and with numerous manufacturers, every one of these companies is facing cut throat competition. A good home, car and earning in 5 figures is a talk of bygone days, apart from the basic needs, consumer wants living life peacefully thereby adding luxury to it.

With the neck to neck competitive world, people living in big and tall buildings are living their lives just opposite to how their ancestors lived. They dream of luxury at their every step wherein the new brands steps along with advanced technologies. Hence to avoid any confusion for buying the best air conditioners available in the market, we look out for particular needs and requirements.

Air conditioners are designed to extract heat and moisture from the surroundings thereby converting them utilizing the refrigeration cycle. This offers cool and fresh air minus any allergens which assists in providing comfort during hot weather. The most common types of ACs available in the market are split AC and whirlpool window AC that are available with totally different set up. These have different functionality along with variable options.

So do not buy ac in India just because it belongs to a well reckoned brand, but choose the one that meets your unique requirements and varied installation needs. With a number of distinguishing features and free delivery facilities, there are numerous online portals offering cheap split AC and discounted window AC that can be ordered through internet.

We are an online marketplace engaged in offering discounted deals on a wide array of air conditioners. The products on offer are assured of their superior quality and therefore have earned goodwill for us not only in national but international marketplace. With latest models and industry leading prices on offer, onlinedeals.in has set a benchmark for itself across the global online marketplace

For further information, check out http://onlinedeals.in/Shopping/Whirlpool_1_32.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Esha_Jain

By Esha Jain

EV Basics II - An Electric Vehicle Primer

Important Acronyms:

BEV - Battery electric vehicle, a vehicle which uses only batteries and one or more motors to provide the force that makes it go.

EV - Electric vehicle, any vehicle that uses electric power to provide some or all of its propulsive force.

FCEV - Fuel cell electric vehicle, an electric vehicle which uses a hydrogen fuel cell as its source of electric power.

HEV - Hybrid electric vehicle, a car or truck that uses both an ICE and an electric motor.

ICE - Internal combustion engine, the powerplant of choice for the dirty, inefficient vehicles of the 20^th Century.

PHEV - Plug-in hybrid vehicle, a hybrid vehicle with a battery pack that can be charged from a wall socket.

Have you just developed an interest in electric vehicles? Are you looking to learn some EV fundamentals? You've come to the right place! Read on, and you will start your education on the wonders of EVs. In this article, I will introduce readers to some of the various different types of EVs and explaing some of the advantages and issues associated with each type. Note that this article is only an introduction. I will go into more depth on different aspects of the subject matter in future installments of the "EV Basics" series.

There are several different power trains available which use electric motors. The simplest of these vehicles is the battery electric vehicle or BEV. This is a pure electric vehicle which uses only a battery pack and an electric motor to store energy and create the power necessary to make the car or truck move. BEVs have been around for a long time. In 1835, Thomas Davenport built a railway operated by a small electric motor. In the early years of the 20^th Century, BEVs competed quite successfully with ICE-powered vehicles. It was not until Henry Ford started building the Model T that gasoline-powered cars that BEVs faded from public view.

In the 1960s, BEVs began to make a comeback. Interest in electric vehicles has grown steadily since then as concerns about pollution and dependence on foreign oil have permeated mainstream consciousness. Currently, BEVs are being designed and built in a wide variety of styles and layouts, from electric scooters, to low-speed electric cars such as those produced by Zenn Motor Company, to high-power freeway burners such as the two-seat Tesla Roadster or the family-friendly, five-passenger eBox by AC Propulsion.

BEVs must face a few hurdles if they are to replace ICE-only cars as our primary method of transportation. Historically, they have had limited driving range, significantly less than the range of a gasoline-powered car. Additionally, BEV have generally taken several hours to recharge the battery pack. In a world in which people have gotten used to instant gratification, this poses a real problem. The good news is that many people are working on these issues, and dramatic improvements are being made in both range and recharging time. Current EV designs have achieved ranges of more than 300 miles and charging times have been brought down to two hours or less in some models charged with high-powered "smart" chargers.

In the 1990s, Honda and Toyota introduced the American driving public to the hybrid electric vehicle or HEV. These vehicles use both an ICE and an electric motor. There are different types of HEVs which layout the engine and the motor in either a parallel or a series configuration. In a series configuration, the ICE acts only as an electrical generator. In a parallel configuration the ICE again acts as a generator, but it also drives the vehicle's wheels just as the engine would do in an ICE-only vehicle.

HEVs provide significant benefits over ICE-only cars in two distinct areas. Firstly, the electric motor allows engineers to operate the ICE more efficiently because an HEV can rely heavily on the electric motor at points in which the ICE would be operating very inefficiently. Secondly, the battery pack in an HEV can be used to recapture the energy used while braking. To accomplish this, engineers create regenerative braking systems which used the electrical resistance of a generator to slow the car down long before they mechanical brakes come into play. The energy from the generator is then stored in the battery pack for future use. In a car without regenerative braking, all this energy is wasted by creating heat and wearing down the brake pads.

HEVs also have some problems. Unlike BEVs, they require some gasoline or other liquid fuel to operate. Also, they are more complicated then either a BEV or an ICE-only vehicle because they require both types of drivetrain components under one hood. However, they eliminate the range and recharging issues associated with BEVs, so HEVs can be viewed as a good transition step to the vehicles of the future.

Recently, much attention has been paid to plug-in hybrids or PHEVs. In essence, a PHEV is an HEV with a larger battery pack, a plug which allows the battery pack to be charged from a wall socket, and a control system which allows the vehicle to be operated in electric-only mode. The wall-charging feature allows a PHEV to get some of its power from the utility grid (or from a local power source such as a photovoltaic array or wind turbine) and some of its power from gasoline. Recently, several companies and individuals have been working on creating plug-in versions of the Toyota Prius. These conversions allow the Prius to run in all-electric mode until it reaches roughly 35mph. They give varying traveling ranges in all-electric mode, depending on which type of batteries are used and how many extra batteries are installed.

While these plug-in Priuses are a good start, PHEVs as a genre have even more potential. General Motors recently introduced the Chevrolet Volt E-Flex concept car, a PHEV which can travel up to 40 miles in electric only mode. It has a large electric motor and a one liter, three cylinder ICE. PHEVs of the future could follow this trend even further, maximizing the electric elements of the drivetrain while reducing the ICE to a tiny power plant which gets used only as a last resort.

In the last few years, fuel cell electric vehicles or FCEVs have grabbed many headlines. These are electric vehicles which use a hydrogen fuel cell to provide power, eliminating the need for a battery pack. Proponents point out that hydrogen is the most abundant of the chemical elements and that the only gas emitted from an FCEV is steam made from pure water. Detractors point out that nearly all hydrogen currently available is made from natural gas, a petroleum product. Hydrogen is also difficult to store in quantities sufficient to give FCEVs adequate range and it can present safety hazards when pressurized in tanks. Finally, FCEVs currently require complex, bulky support systems which take up excessive space and result in power delivery systems which are far less efficient than those present in BEVs.

Fuel cells have some potential to become part of the overall energy scenario in the future. However, many feel that FCEVs have been used primarily as a distraction and a stalling device. Companies and politicians keep telling us, "We'll have FCEVs in the near future, but until then keep driving your Hummers!" These tactics keep people from demanding BEVs as soon as possible. As one saying puts it, "Practical, viable fuel cells are ten to twenty years away, and they always will be."

One other type of electric vehicle is the human-assist hybrid. The most common example of this vehicle type is the electric bicycle. These are commonly-available, inexpensive, and they give people the health benefits associated with exercise while providing an additional boost when needed. Legally, they must be limited to 20 mph in electric assist mode, and the electric-only range of electric bikes now available is almost always less than twenty miles.

However, readers should ponder the fact that a small, aerodynamic vehicle can cruise at 65 mph on a flat road while using only five horsepower. Imagine the roads covered with small, efficient vehicles that use tiny electric motors and human power to achieve freeway speeds without putting a significant burden on the utility grid. While no major corporations are working on vehicles like this, small groups of dedicated individuals are working to make this type of vehicle available to the general public. These low-power vehicles could become the ultimate transportation solution for an energy-conscious society.

So there you have it! You now have enough information to join EV-related conversations at your next social gathering. You can talk about the different types of EVs, letting people know what is available now and what is coming in the near future. If you are still curious for more details on the benefits of electric vehicles and the advances which are being made in the field, please see the other articles in this "EV Basics" series.

Forbes Bagatelle-Black
West Coast Contributing Editor, EVWorld.com
http://www.evworld.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Forbes_Bagatelle-Black

By Forbes Bagatelle-Black

It Pays to Be a Defensive Driver - Literally

There are many different drivers on the road today. There are the aggressive, cautious, and defensive. There have been numerous articles endorsing the defensive driver from a safety perspective. This article aims to show the monetary benefits of driving this way.

With gas prices surpassing $4 a gallon and likely headed higher it is now evident that consumers will have to change their habits to cope with the increase costs. There are many solutions such as public transit, ride sharing, and biking. However not everyone can use these options and even when consolidating trips $4 + gas is going to effect the consumer.

While nothing can be done to assuage the increasing costs, the consumer can change the way they drive. I have read many tips for how to improve gas mileage and found that some have a significant impact while others are complete bunk. I have outlined the two biggest factors for increasing your cars mileage.

Maximum Speed:

Cars have an optimal operation speed. For many cars 55 mph is the fastest the car can travel while still providing efficient fuel economy. If you consistently drive 70 mph or 80 mph on the highway it is costing you more money.

Red Light / Green Light:

Have you seen that scene in Meet the Parents where Ben Stiller and Robert Dinero were flooring the car off each green light only to slam on their breaks right before a red light? This type of behavior puts stress on the engine and brakes, which will result in steep mechanic bills. Further this will give the driver the worst gas mileage. It is far better to accelerate slowly to get your car up to speed. Make sure to keep a good following distance from other cars so that you can anticipate a signal. The best mileage occurs if you are able to take the foot of the gas and coast up to a red light, if you time it right it may turn green before you get there and you can keep on going. You might just pull ahead of the person next to you who raced by you and had to hit the brakes hard into the signal.

As you can see the two factors I have outlined is not secret science. They are the overlooked obvious. You do not need to stress about your PSI in your ties, filling your gas on high or low at the station, or even using your AC. In some situations the AC is actually more efficient than the drag created from having your windows down. If you follow these driving habits not only will you save money, you will find you are more relaxed on the road as well.

Royce Anderson is a Real Estate Agent for Keller Williams Realty in Walnut Creek, California.

http://www.royceanderson.com
http://royce.yourkwagent.com
royceanderson@kw.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Royce_Anderson

By Royce Anderson

A Car Buying Story - Part One - Why and What?

My recent decision to buy a car was not really a voluntary one. I had a small accident in which my almost 20 years old Honda Accord was promptly written off. With such an old car even a small bend and broken headlight is already too expensive to repair, so the insurance decided they better give me $1,500, which was actually a good deal. But it left me without a car.

So shopping for car was in order. This was certainly an undertaking given that I haven't been following up on cars at all for about 8 years since I bought Honda Accord. I like driving, and do like good cars, I even like fixing the cars to some extent, but I'm no real enthusiast. I don't read articles on cars; I don't buy auto magazines or go to auto shows. I also usually do not start a conversation about latest models and features. Similar to a presidential candidate who is seriously "on top of things" only during the campaign -- once elected, the interests and priorities change a bit.

Anyhow, I knew I had to do some extensive research in order to be happy about what I'm about to buy. So I did that, and the amount of new information I've gathered was even larger than I expected. You know, today's cars are completely different things than those from 15 or more years ago. Features that did not even exist before became my main focus and motivation.

I spent several days online, just reading whatever I could find. And good thing is that all the car makers have very comprehensive websites where you can find all the information you need including the prices. It actually turned out that the prices I got off of these websites matched perfectly what I got in the dealerships -- and that is with all the additions like taxes, AC fee, delivery fee, pre-delivery inspection fee (PDI) and such.

I also read other sources, mostly looking for experience of other people. There are a lot of good resources on the Internet, just do a search and you'll find whatever you're looking for -- there is so much out there. Some of them I found useful are:

Car Buying Tips: http://www.carbuyingtips.com An excellent website with the world of information about every aspect of car buying process. It will save you some headaches too.

Edmunds: http://www.edmunds.com Sort of a "traditional" auto portal. Also covers all aspects of the topic -- from prices to safety. And, I've heard dealers refer to this site.

MSN Autos: http://autos.msn.com Another general auto portal. I used it a lot when I was comparing specific features of different models -- it has a handy comparison little tool.

Automotive.com: http://www.automotive.com Automobile: http://www.automobilemag.com These two are also general portals, and I used them mostly to find specifications of older models including my Accord '89 for comparison with the new models.

After a few days I arrived to a set of features that I'd like to have:

New car

Or almost a new car. Before I had time to maintain and work on a car myself, but now, with the family and two small kids, I don't even have the time to think about the car, let alone do some work. And even having a good mechanic is not sufficient. With an old car, there is no mechanic that can guarantee anything -- you have to simply accept that you'll have unexpected problems. Before I was able to take that responsibility, but now, with a family and no time, I can't. So I needed not only a problem-free car, but also a concern-free car.

Make

I drove domestic, Japanese and German cars before, and thought I'm going to go with Japanese once more. I thought that would give me better probability of a hassle-free car for a good price. I did question this decision during the research, but in the end I stuck to it.

Safety

With the recent car accident I wanted safety above all. Even in a small accident like the one I had, you get to experience very strongly how utterly unprotected we all are on the road. You absolutely don't need a lot to get killed or injured. And nobody really has to make any mistake, let alone big mistake. One small, almost negligible thing happens, and there you are in a blaze of events ending with a crash.

The guy in front of me stopped short and I was fraction of a moment late to react and kicked him a bit. Not too much -- his car didn't suffer almost any damage except some scratches and dirt on the bumper. But then I started thinking "what if..." thoughts. It was fairly steep downhill, and if it were raining...! If there was a motorcycle in front of me instead of a mini van... If I was going faster and for some reason in a spur of the moment decided to avoid him by switching to other lane (full of cars)... If all of those things happened together... Even now when I think of those things, my stomach aches.

And then later while researching crash tests scores I watched official crash tests videos on the internet. Boy, I would recommend everyone to see at least one or two of those videos -- you'll get much more realistic picture about driving in a car. There are two organizations that perform crash tests and on their websites you'll find the safety information for many models:

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA): http://www.safercar.gov

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS): http://www.iihs.org

The information on these websites is very educative and complete. It contains the descriptions of the tests, the results for many models and the video clips. You can also find a lot of general info accumulated in the years of research in this area. For example -- what is the impact in front, side or rear crashes, how does impact differ for front and rear passengers, how to protect your children, the implications of increasing number of large vehicles (SUVs in particular) on the road (you better buy a bigger car yourself), etc.

The tests videos can also be found (even more of them) by doing a search on the web. A lot of them are posted on YouTube.

So I figured I wanted air bags -- not only front ones, but also side and particularly curtain ones that protect rear seat passengers. The side and curtain airbags are not mandatory and they are not standard equipment. Some of the models do not have them even as an option.

ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) was also a must -- I hate sudden stops, and if it's raining or snowing, ABS can help a lot.

Other safety features like active stability control, traction control, active head restraints, car body designed to absorb the impact were also very desirable.

In the end AWD (All Wheel Drive) was something to consider as well.

Space

This was a tricky one. I had controversial requirements. Most of the time we need a small city car -- going to work, driving small kids to school, shopping, etc. Only sometimes we'll go for a longer vacation trip when we need larger trunk. Only sometimes we'll have parents, relatives or friends visiting when we need at least enough space in the back for two car seats and one or more adults. Only sometimes I'll need to carry a piece of smaller furniture or such. So should I buy a minivan if 95% of the time it will practically be empty? Or should I buy a small car and not be able even to go for a picnic? This question is actually even now, after I bought the car, still unresolved. Time will show how well I did on this.

Convenience

I did not need or even want things like sun roof, leather seats, body coloured and heated mirrors, spoilers and such. Even power this or that wasn't important to me although I've learned that these days a number of even basic models include power options to a good extent. So I figured, I'll accept it if I have to, what can I do.

Fuel Economy

Very important. Gas prices are going up and the oil wars are going on -- need say no more. And over the years that you own a car it adds up. It is actually an excellent idea to calculate the total cost of the car over a number of years (including gas, insurance and other maintenance costs) and use that figure when making the decision. So I wanted the best fuel economy possible -- another controversial requirement.

I was actually hoping I'll find a good diesel car, but in Canada there aren't many of those since we have pretty high emissions standards so some of the good diesel cars do not qualify. And that is too bad. I rented small VW Polo a few months ago in Europe, and drove 900 km with 1.5 tanks!! By specs it spends 4L/100km!! That's a money saver. And it actually produces such a nice feeling of independence -- you drive and drive and drive, and then drive some more, and the tank is still full. So sweet!!

With all these requirements I set off to dealerships one nice weekend. I figured I'll just go to an auto mall, and browse. I figured later this was really not the best way to approach things. After a whole day of looking at cars and test driving them, you get pretty tired and they all look the same at the end of the day. And after doing that for two whole days I got sick of cars and didn't want to buy one at all! But on the other hand I did collect a lot of information, and got the first impressions about driving them. Then I let that settle for a while and in the meantime explored options of buying a used car, buying one down-south in US, or in a dealership far away from the city where I could get a better price. Then, of course, I also needed to figure out the best way to pay for the car. Boy, this all takes time. It's a full-time project. But in the end I had my options laid out and made a decision.

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Michael Thornessen is a typical car buyer that has recently spent some substantial time and effort researching the auto market. Michael writes for Cheap Gasoline dot biz. See this article at http://cheapgasoline.biz/page.cfm/id/10130

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By Michael Thornessen