By Adewale Sanyaolu
As Nigerians continue to battle with energy crisis occasioned by a perennial shortage of premium motor spirit (PMS), popularly called petrol, there have been calls in several quarters on the need to better manage the scarce commodity at this time and beyond.
Indeed, the acute shortage of petrol is further worsened by the dwindling purchasing power of Nigerians who out of their meager income spend a larger chunk of their hard-earned resources to generate an alternative source of power using generators.
A recent report by Stears and Sterling, a research firm and financial institution, titled, “Nigeria’s State of Power: Electrifying the Nation’s Economy” showed that over 40 per cent of households in Nigeria own and use generators to meet their electricity requirements.
The report indicated that the affected households spent about $14bn annually to fuel their generators, as the power supply from the national grid continued to falter.
The report reads in part, “Nigerian households, on average, have electricity in their homes for 15 to 18 hours each day. Of that, 44 per cent (or 6.8 hours) is self-supplied by generators. And this differs by geography. In a state like Taraba, only 19 per cent of households report having electricity.
“Over 40 per cent of Nigerian households own generators, and bear the associated costs. First, the cost of purchasing generators – an estimated $500 million between 2015 and 2019, higher than the proposed capital expenditure in Nigeria’s 2022 budget.
“There is also the cost of powering these generators. Sources and estimates vary widely, but the African Development Bank estimated that Nigerians spend $14 billion fuelling petrol or diesel powered generators.”
It added, “While PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) or petrol prices have been kept artificially low for the consumers through subsidies, variations in AGO (Automotive Gas Oil) or diesel prices can have a severe impact on households and businesses as Nigerians are currently experiencing.”
The report stated though the National Bureau of Statistics diesel price watch for February 2022 showed a less than 10 per cent rise in the price of fuel from the beginning of the year, diesel was widely sold at prices 200 to 300 per cent up from the end of last year.
To further compound consumer woes, the recent spike in the cost of petrol which moved from an average price of N170 per liter to the current price of N240 per liter remained a sour tale of story.
But to manage the challenge, below are some tips on how best to conserve fuel for efficiency in cars and generators to crash cost.
Reducing fuel consumption in cars
Even though we are aware that engines need fuel to run, that does not mean you can’t make some small changes to help you gain some fuel savings.
Keep tires pumped up
Tires that are underinflated have a higher rolling resistance on the road. This means that with every kilometer traveled, your tires generate more friction and rolling resistance, and hence, will increase fuel consumption. If all your tires are underinflated by 10 psi, this could reduce fuel efficiency by up to 10%.
Lose the weight in your boot
For those with a habit of keeping everything and anything in the boot, in addition to emergency spares, think twice when loading up next time. Every extra 50kg your car puts on increases fuel consumption by 2 per cent.
Drive with AC
Contrary to the misconception that driving with AC depltes fuel faster, research has proven that driving with the windows down at speeds faster than 80km/h causes a lot of wind resistance, and costs you a lot more fuel. Contrary to what you may think, in this situation, it’s simply more fuel efficient to drive with the aircon on.
Don’t go too fast or too slow
When cruising down a highway, your engine works hard to overcome wind resistance. You’ll burn up to 15 per cent more fuel at 100 km/h and 25% more at 110 km/h. That might tempt you to drive slow, but if you drive slower than 50 km/h, your engine would drop to a lower gear, thus using up more fuel. In conclusion, a steady 50 – 90 km/h on the highway is best to achieve optimal fuel economy.
Remain steady when accelerating
Avoid revving your accelerator to a high revolutions per minute (RPM). It’s better for fuel economy, as your engine uses less fuel when it is revolving slower, at a lower RPM.
Avoid braking aggressively
Slamming on the brakes increases fuel consumption as you need to accelerate again later. This is especially true if you follow too closely behind the vehicle in front of you. Not to mention, tailgating is dangerous and something to avoid.
Cruise in top gear
If you’re driving an automatic car, make use of cruise control to keep your speed constant. And if you’re driving a manual car, maintain a higher gear when appropriate. In each of these instances, your engines go through less revolutions per minute (RPM) and will reduce your fuel consumption.
Practice predictive driving
Look to the road ahead and plan your next move. Instead of slamming on the brakes to a complete stop, try slowing down as you approach the red light. Or when reaching the foot of a hill, start accelerating as you edge closer to it rather than when you approach it. Avoid hard accelerations when moving your car from a complete stop, or climbing a hill as it will increase fuel consumption.
Plan your rush hour route
Stop-start traffic puts a lot of pressure on your engine, thus burns more fuel. When possible, plan your commute to and from work carefully to help you avoid the worst of peak traffic.
Don’t stay idle for long
If you are waiting for something or someone for more than three minutes, turn off your engine. You may not be moving but as long as your engine is on, it’s burning precious fuel.
Final word
Regular car servicing helps maintain your engine’s fuel efficiency. Engine parts work closely in tandem. If poorly maintained, sludge and corrosion will build-up between the parts making it difficult for the engine to work smoothly. This is also why engine oils are important. A good high-performance engine oil, like Mobil™ can help to reduce friction in the engine, combat sludge and improve fuel economy.
For generators, below are some additional tips on how best to achieve energy efficiency
Use low energy bulbs
By using low voltage light bulbs, you can have good quality lighting that is more reliable and uses considerably less power. The PL-type lights (nickname for a twin tube fluorescent lamp coined by Philips Lighting) are a mixture of fluorescent, neon, sodium and mercury vapour light technology, are up to five times more efficient than incandescent light bulbs and last six times longer. By using the most efficient lights where the lights are needed the most, you can make another significant reduction in your fuel bills.
Use low voltage home appliances
By introducing a selection of low voltage appliances to your home, you can reduce generator runtime and use less power overall. Low voltage appliances — particularly home theatre systems, electric fans, pumps, and so on — which are connected directly to the battery supply are more energy-efficient than their 240-volt equivalents.
Lower your refrigerator usage
By changing over to a low voltage compressor motor-type refrigerator, you may be able to significantly reduce your fuel bills still further. A low voltage compressor motor-type refrigerator or freezer on average uses significantly less power than its 240-volt counterpart.
Use gas cooker for heating water
A gas cooker, rather than electric cooker, could take care of your hot water needs in case you don’t want to use stove.
Go for smaller generator
Generators are often geared to being able to power everything being turned on all at once, i.e., maximum loading. By transferring a significant portion of this load either to a battery-based inverter or directly to a battery bank, there could be a considerable downscaling of the size of generator needed. Any petrol or diesel generator needs to have a minimum loading when it is running. This means that if you just want to watch TV which is connected to the generator, you would have to turn on a whole lot of other things such as light bulbs, appliances, heaters, etc. in order to provide this minimum load. Just to watch TV can cost you a small fortune in fuel. A smaller generator has a smaller minimum loading and uses less fuel per kilowatt-hour for the smaller loads.
Renewable energy is the best option
Agreed, it costs perhaps a fortune to install a solar power system, but if you have already employed one or a combination of the above methods to reduce your fuel bills, you could start using your savings to invest in long-term measures to further reduce your fuel bills and even cut off your dependence on generator. Install solar panel, wind turbine or hydro unit in your home and you will never worry about electricity again.
A combination of energy sources is always the best option — when the sun doesn’t shine, you will have either the wind blowing or the rain pouring. Hydro power, unfortunately, is not applicable to many remote areas as a fast-flowing stream and/or a vertical head of water (to give pressure) are essential.
