Alternative Fuels, Efficient Cars, Greener Drivers
What car you drive and how you drive it can make a real difference to it's impact on the environment. This section looks at three different aspects of driving: alternative fuel, better cars and greener drivers.
Alternative fuels
There is a host of alternative fuels available to us today.
Councils in Hertfordshire are actively supporting electric vehicle charging points. There are over 500 electricity charging bays in the East of England including within Hertfordshire: Baldock, Croxley Green, Harpenden, Hemel Hempsted, Hertford, Hitchin, Letchworth, Radlett, Royston, St Albans, Watford and Welwyn Garden City. There are useful maps available to help you find a local charging point.
Electric cars are powered by electricity usually by plugging into the mains to top up the battery. Go Ultra Low and the Green Car Site provide further information about electric cars.
Hybrid cars have a petrol engine and powerful sets of batteries. The car usually starts on the petrol and, when driving in slow speeds, turns over to the electric power. The battery is topped up by the otherwise wasted energy when braking.
One possible option, if you have a diesel engine car is used cooking oil. Enthusiasts’ run and maintained journey for ever website. Other options include bioethanol or biodiesel. Both can be used in existing cars without any modification. To learn about biofuels visit the Renewable Fuel Agency and to find out where the biodisel filling stations are located visit the biodiesel filling stations webpage.
Another option is LPG (liquid petroleum gas). You can also convert your existing vehicle into LPG. To find out more about LPG visit the drive LPG website. The location of LPG stations throughout the UK is available to download from the LPG map.
In most cases, when using an alternative fuel vehicle you can be exempt from the London Congestion Charge. For more information visit the Powershift website.