MIDWAY, FL (#WTXLDigital) - The gas price drop of 2014 appears to be gone and with prices on the rise, drivers are looking for new ways to save money.
The U.S. Department of Energy has even created a website dedicated to help save gas, fueleconomy.gov.
Here are some ways there are to save gas and cash while driving this summer.
1. Using your air conditioner can make you use more gas; but so can driving with your windows open.
According to the website it depends on several factors including the temperature, humidity, intensity of the sun, and how fast your car is driving. If it is really hot outside, using the air conditioning can make you use more gas but if you're driving at a fast speed, open windows can cause wind resistance and make your car need additional gas to keep moving.
2. Safe driving practices can help save fuel.
Aggressive driving which entails speeding, rapid acceleration and braking is the ticket to wasting fuel according to the website. But staying under the speed limit is one way to save anyways; the website says that gas mileage decreases drastically at speeds over 50 mph.
3. Combine your car trips to keep the savings going.
The Department of Energy also recommends trying to run all of your errands at once. You will use twice as much fuel taking several short trips where your engine has to completely warm up for each trip. One longer trip with a warm engine is far more efficient.
While those are only a few tips from fueleconomy.gov, the site has more advice and calculators to show how much you are spending and saving. There is even a calculator where you enter your vehicle information and travel locations and it will tell you how much you are spending on gas during your trip.
