Idling and Climate Change Go Hand in Hand

• Health impacts of idling
• Idling wastes fuel and money
• News flash! Idling is not good for your engine
• Block heaters save fuel and help the environment

Climate change is a global problem, but a big part of the solution lies in the hands of individuals – including the millions of Canadians who drive vehicles every day.

What exactly is climate change? Scientists believe increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are trapping heat near the earth's surface. This is causing global temperatures to rise, which in turn is triggering changes in climate. We're already seeing the early impacts of climate change in Canada, with severe weather events in some parts of the country, but it could get much worse. Unless action is taken, climate change could put Canada's forests and water supply at risk, endanger plant and animal species, and harm human health.

Human activities, particularly the combustion of fossil fuels, are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. And Canadians' love affair with the car – we own more of them and drive them farther than ever before – is a big part of the problem. In fact, the transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

For every litre of gasoline used, the average car produces about 2.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the principal greenhouse gas. This is unavoidable with today's internal combustion engines. But we can avoid producing unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions by reducing or eliminating wasteful vehicle idling.

Emissions from idling vehicles are needless and can be easily prevented – all it takes is the turn of a key.

If every driver of a light-duty vehicle in Canada avoided idling for just five minutes a day, we would prevent more than 1 million tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere each year. That would represent a huge contribution to Canada's climate change efforts.

Health impacts of idling

Carbon dioxide is only one by-product of fuel combustion – the vehicles Canadians drive every day also generate other toxic substances that are fouling our air, contributing to urban smog and threatening our health.

Studies by Health Canada and community health departments and agencies have shown a direct link between contaminants in vehicle emissions and significant respiratory health effects. These studies have concluded that poor air quality and smog – caused in part by vehicle exhaust – are resulting in increased hospital admissions, respiratory illnesses and premature deaths, particularly in urban areas.

In fact, Health Canada estimates that more than 5000 Canadians die prematurely each year because of air pollution, and thousands more become unnecessarily ill. Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per kilogram of body weight. Air pollution also causes unnecessary difficulty for elderly people and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

These health problems could become even more common and pronounced as climate change progresses. That's because climate change results in more frequent and severe heat waves, which tend to make smog and air pollution worse. One way to head off the problem is to stop unnecessary idling. Our air would be cleaner, and respiratory health would improve in our communities.

For more information on health and climate change, visit the Web site of Health Canada's Climate Change and Health Office. Information about respiratory issues is available from the Canadian Lung Association.

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Idling Wastes Fuel and Money

One of the most powerful arguments in favour of reduced idling is an economic one. Unnecessary idling wastes fuel – after all, idling gets us nowhere – and wasted fuel is wasted money.

Many Canadian fleet operators have implemented idling policies to reduce their fuel costs and improve their competitiveness. (In some heavy-duty vehicles, electronic engines can be programmed to shut down after a certain period of idling.) With today's high fuel prices, individual Canadians might be well-advised to consider adopting a personal idling policy.

If every driver of a light duty vehicle avoided idling by five minutes a day, collectively, we would save 1.8 million litres per day of fuel, almost 4500 tonnes of GHG emissions, and $1.7 million in fuel costs everyday (assuming fuel costs are $0.95/L).

There is lots of opportunity to achieve that goal. Research indicates that Canadian motorists idle their vehicles an average of 5 to 10 minutes a day. One study suggests that in the peak of winter, Canadians voluntarily idle their vehicles for a combined total of more than 75 million minutes a day – equivalent to one vehicle idling for 144 years! We idle about 40 percent less in summer, but it still amounts to an enormous waste of fuel and money.

There's another issue to consider. Gasoline is derived from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. We're not in danger of running out in the near future, but crude oil reserves in Canada and around the world are dwindling – why waste this precious resource?

To sum up, gasoline is costly, its use has significant environmental impacts, and there's not an endless supply – three good reasons not to waste fuel through unnecessary vehicle idling.

We've developed a model Personal Five-Step Action Plan to help Canadians change their vehicle idling habits. Individuals can make a difference, especially when they act together.

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News Flash! Idling Is Not Good for Your Engine

Perhaps the greatest myth about idling is that it's good for the engine. The truth is that excessive idling can actually damage a vehicle's engine.

Contrary to popular belief, idling is not an effective way to warm up a vehicle, even in cold weather. The best way to do this is to drive the vehicle. Today's electronically controlled engines allow you to drive away after only 30 seconds of idling, even on the coldest winter days.

Excessive idling can be a problem for a few reasons:

• First, since an idling engine is not operating at its peak temperature, fuel combustion is incomplete.
• As a result, fuel residues can condense on cylinder walls, contaminate oil and damage engine components. For example, these residues tend to deposit on spark plugs. With more engine idling there is a drop in the average plug temperature and accelerated plug fouling. This can increase fuel consumption by 4 to 5 percent.
• Excessive idling can cause water to condense in the vehicle's exhaust. This can lead to corrosion and reduce the life of the exhaust system.

There's another good reason for motorists to drive away soon after starting a vehicle. The engine is only one component of a vehicle. Other parts, such as the wheel bearings, steering, suspension, transmission and tires, also need to be warmed up, and the only way to do that is to get the vehicle moving.

Another common misconception is that it's better to let an engine idle than to continually shut off and restart the vehicle. Research has shown that frequent restarting has little impact on engine components such as the battery and starter motor. Component wear caused by restarting is estimated to add $10 per year to the cost of driving, money that can be recovered several times over in fuel savings from reduced idling.

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Block heaters save fuel and help the environment

Starting a vehicle on a cold winter day can be hard on the engine and the environment. The best way to get around this problem is to use a block heater when the temperature drops below 0°C.

Here's the Problem

When an engine starts up, it pumps oil through the engine block to lubricate moving parts. In a cold engine, the oil is thick and resists flow, so the engine has to work harder to overcome internal friction. As a result, the engine uses more fuel and creates more pollution in the first minutes after a cold start than when it reaches normal operating temperatures.

Fuel combustion is also less efficient in a cold engine, and the air-fuel mixture is richer – in other words, there is more fuel than needed in the mixture, and less air. The combined effect is a sharp increase in pollutants. Since a vehicle's catalytic converter doesn't work when it is cold, all of the engine's emissions pass through the exhaust untreated.

Here's the Solution

A block heater is an inexpensive device that warms the coolant, which in turn warms the engine block and lubricants. The engine will start more easily, reach its peak operating temperature faster and won't have to work as hard to pump oil through the block.

At –20°C, block heaters can improve overall fuel economy by as much as 10 percent. For a single short trip on a cold day, fuel savings could be in the order of 20 percent.

An automatic timer can be used to turn on the block heater a couple of hours before the vehicle is to be started.

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