Save fuel: Top 5 solutions for professionals

In recent years, the price of fuel has continued to increase, whether that of gasoline, diesel or GNR (non-road diesel), both for private vehicles and professional vehicles, to the point of becoming the one of the largest cost items in road transport for example. Indeed, it is estimated that fuel is in second place among road operators' expense items, since it represents on average 25% to 30% of costs. The observation is the same (in different proportions) for any activity that frequently uses energy-intensive machines. At ECOLOW, we actively help professionals ensure efficient management of their fuel in order to avoid overconsumption and achieve energy savings.

Discover our top 5 tips for saving fuel specially grouped for you!

Our 5 tips for consuming less

In this article, we would like to target our advice around the sector most concerned by the subject and in which we work with many clients to help them reduce their fuel budget : those of road transport. These 5 tips are there to provide you with solutions to consume less, a guarantee of savings in your company's expenses... but also to reduce pollution and be part of an approach to protecting the environment!

Optimize the transportation plan 

To maintain a positive relationship between kilometer distance and truck fuel consumption, several tips should be applied regarding the optimization of the transport plan :

• Plan the route on a map, i.e. optimize your route by checking the efficiency of your delivery route to cover as few kilometers as possible and save fuel.
• Regulate the filling rate of the road vehicle, optimize its loading within reason, so as to save on the number of journeys without compromising the operation of the engine (avoid overheating of the vehicle).
• Pooling flows , ensure the grouping of several goods with commercial partners or competitors in the road sector in order to save time and money (fewer liters of fuel consumed!).

Save fuel with Ecodriving 

Opinions are unanimous, to help drivers save fuel and untimely trips to service stations, it is essential to encourage them to adopt responsible driving of their vehicle with the implementation of eco-training . driving for heavy goods vehicles .

This driving method includes several techniques which allow drivers, by implementing good driving practices, to reduce the consumption of their vehicles, the pollution generated and to reduce the risk of accidents . Here is a brief summary:

• Limit the driving speed of the vehicle on the road and highway in order to reduce the risk of overconsumption, responsible for significant greenhouse gas , and thus preserve the safety of everyone, in town and in the countryside.
• Drive at a consistent speed thanks to the use of a regulator.
• Avoid switching on the air conditioning system, which increases the vehicle's diesel (or gasoline) consumption
• Reduce vehicle speed when going uphill and use engine braking when going downhill to conserve a few liters of fuel while traveling.
• Last advice, adopt a smooth driving style, without sudden acceleration in turns or intense braking in order to preserve the tires and avoid overconsumption.

Maintaining your vehicles 

In addition to choosing to adopt a constant speed for your road vehicle in order to reduce engine consumption and save fuel , you should also ensure that your vehicle is managed and maintained rigorously. Managers know the subject well.

The condition of the tires and their pressure must be checked regularly to ensure that there are no punctures or tears, which could cause accidents on the route of road vehicles. Pressure, for its part, is an essential variable to ensure safe and economical driving; Underinflated tires cause premature wear and excessive fuel consumption.

Road vehicle maintenance must be complete and include checking the braking system, lighting system, suspensions as well as fluid levels (engine oil, cooling and brakes). It is necessary to drain the engine every 30,000 to 60,000 kilometers on average to ensure its longevity, just as vehicle parts must be replaced as soon as their efficiency is no longer optimal.

Thanks to perfect management of the maintenance of your road vehicle fleet, you allow the engines of your heavy goods vehicles to extend their lifespan and provide your professional services with complete peace of mind!

Technology for fuel savings: Telematics

In the road transport sector, as we have stated since the beginning of this article, tight control of fuel costs is crucial for business profitability. On-board telematics systems offer an innovative solution to optimize fuel consumption. These devices make it possible to monitor and analyze consumption-related data in real time, such as speed, braking habits, engine operating hours and routes taken.

By highlighting areas for improvement, fleet managers can implement strategies to reduce their consumption.

The various telematics are therefore valuable tools which allow road transport companies to have better availability of information to carry out analyzes complementary to all their actions.

These devices monitor the fuel level in the vehicle's tank 24 hours a day, in order to optimize its use. We consider that this investment allows for a fuel saving of 10% on average compared to the energy budget.

In fact, this box embedded in the truck during their journey on the road guarantees a saving of 3 liters per 100 km; according to Jean-Marc Platero, director of technical resources at the STEF company, “the tool makes it possible to measure engine consumption at idle, to detect and alert tank siphoning, to organize the management of refueling ".

These systems remain expensive, their effectiveness differs from one model to another and although extremely widespread, they are often considered controversial devices by the drivers themselves. Today it is an extremely competitive sector which is developing numerous innovations such as more recently the calculation of CO2 emissions even in the case of multimodal transport . However, these measures are imperfect and although useful for many reasons there are other devices which more directly target a reduction in your fuel consumption.