Sometimes the most simple things can be the key to the most amazing of revelations and can go a long way in energy conservation, ultimately benefiting the planet. A group of researchers from Ricardo-an automotive engineering firm in West Sussex, UK-believe that we are driving our hybrid cars like regular gas-guzzlers.

gps navigators

The main culprit is our air conditioner which stops whenever our car stops in the economy-mode. To get that AC back running, the drivers normally turn off the economy mode thereby switching to the petrol mode which means that the fuel-efficiency factor gets totally ignored.

Ricardo researchers suggest their location-sensing solution to rid these drivers of this habit. This system uses the GPS to locate the car’s position on a digital map that also includes traffic lights and junctions which helps the system ascertain the exact time when the engine and the AC would be cut off.

Using this determination of the exact time, it produces extra cool air to reduce the cabin temperature by a further 1.5 degrees, which eliminates the need of the petrol mode as we drive away from the situation. This solution brings down the fuel consumption by 9%  in urban driving. The only problem is the outside temperature should be around 22 °C which means this solution is good enough specifically for the UK.

Not that novel after all!

[via Newscientist] Image courtesy of edans

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