Idling Stop

Posted on 2003/01/24 13:45:48 (January 2003) by john.

One small stop for mankind...

One of Chie's friends wanted me to read through the summary of his graduation thesis the other day, to check for grammar errors and so on. It was surprisingly very educational. His thesis was about the "idling stop" movement in Japan. To my ears, this is a bit of Japanese English, which I hadn't heard before. So, as far as I know, we don't have the same concept over here.

The idea is a simple one. Cars, as we know, produce lots of nasty emissions which we'd like to cut down on. Often people leave their engines running for various reasons when not actually moving. For example, when running an errand, like popping into a shop for a minute to buy a pint of milk, or going to a cash machine. Also, when waiting in traffic lots of engines are running (perhaps) unecessarily. An "idling stop", is simply the action of turning off your engine when you don't actually need it. Not only does this reduce emissions, but also reduces fuel consumption.

It's quite a big thing in Japan, and although the government seem to be reluctant to introduce legislation, there's certainly lots of publicity about it. Many people seem to voluntarily adhere to it. A large number of transportation companies have introduced company policy mandating their drivers to turn off the engine when the vehicle in question is stationary. I assume the incentive for them is more to do with reducing fuel costs rather than a great deal of compassion for the environment, but still, the end result is good either way. Thinking about it, when I was in Japan last time I recall being on buses where the drivers turned off the engine at each pick up point. It seemed odd to me at the time, but now being back in England and having learnt about this issue it seems really odd that buses leave their engines on here.

I really like the idea. It is so simple, and yet apparently can make a really significant difference. In city centres it's quite reasonable to believe that many vehicles spend as much time idling as they do actually moving. Let's assume everyone turns off their engine during these idling periods - emissions would drop immediately by 50%. Fuel consumption would also decrease significantly. It needs no new inventions, no big investment, just a bit of education and a degree of conscience from individual members of the public.

Obviously, there will be some resistance to this idea. In some situations it may not be practical to keep stopping and starting the engine - older cars, for example, often have trouble starting up, and so it's easy to imagine drivers being reluctant to risk it when in heavy traffic. One of the main areas of resistance in Japan apparently relates to cold weather. As in-car heating is often contingent on the engine running, most people do not want to turn the engine off and get cold. There must be ways to solve these problems though. On the whole, I'm sure there are many situations were people keep engines running unnecessarily, and with just a little thought, these unnecessary emissions could be eliminated.

So I wonder why seemingly no-one has heard of this movement over here? Or is it just me, as a non-driver, that is ignorant to this simple, but potentially very benifical measure?

I've discussed this with someone else - not that I was aware that it was a movement in japan, just that it occured to me to stop the car engine in heavy traffic. Anyway, I was lead to believe by this person that it takes a considerable amount of petrol to get the engine going, and as such it was only economical to stop then engine when you know you'll be stopped for a while. Which is, of course, impossible to ascertain in a traffic jam. So you are stuck with an umbrella like situation where as soon as you stop the engine, the traffic starts moving again.

Posted by Graf at 2003/01/24 14:47:12.

Hmmm maybe.... To be honest I'm not sure I believe that. It could be true that it's more effort to start the engine than is saved by stopping it for short periods, but I'd like to be told that by an expert rather than just hearsay. Even if that is the case, I'm sure there has to be some way to make engines that are more efficient when stopping/starting or something.

Posted by John at 2003/01/24 17:30:17.

From what I've been told by a mechanic years ago, it's true about the startup fuel consumption. There must be a point on a grpah somewhere though.... Also, the busses in this country use flywheels to make an effiecient "take off". Apparently.

Posted by rowanboy at 2003/01/27 19:53:18.

Cars _could_ potentially be designed so that this technique could save on pollution. Unfortunately, they are not:

Firstly, cars pump out a lot more fumes on starting than when simply idling (as long as the car is well maintained and idles low). This is especially obvious if you watch a less-than-brand-new diesel car start. This fact, incidentally, makes the fuel-saving aim equally pointless.

Secondly, as pointed out to me by someone else, there are more effects on the environment of the idling stop method. Every time you start your car, the car battery takes a big hit - again especially true on diesels. Eventually, car batteries run out and must be disposed of. This will happen much more frequently if you continually start and stop your car. This has an environmental cost too - although I'm not sure if batteries are recyclable.

Don't get me wrong, if cars were designed for this then we should all be starting and stopping all the time - as I'm sure it will work when we move over to electric cars. Until then, I'll keep my engine running at the lights thank-you. I stop mine if I'm going to be sat still for more than a couple of minutes.

Posted by Simon at 2003/01/27 20:53:18.

Thanks for the input! OK so we just need to find out the minimum stopped period for which turning off the engine is useful... Maybe this varies from car to car though? And obviously it is sometimes difficult to tell in advance how long you're likely to be stopped for. Perhaps traffic lights could have clocks attached indicating how long it is going to be until the lights go green...?

Posted by John at 2003/01/28 09:52:01.

I am surprised, John. The city of Westminster has a clean air program. This means that if you are found to be stopped with your engine running or your vehicle's emissions are above a certain level (below that which and MOT will find), then you will be fined from £80. This has been in force since Uncle Ken started being mayor. Before, the government would not allow it, but Ken effectively told them to take a running jump!

It is a good idea to a certain extent but if you constantly stop and start your engine, you are actually reducing its life quite considerably. An engine does not like to be started and a starter motor only has a certain lifetime.

I also think that making it unattractive to use vehicles where there is an excellent public transport system is a good idea. I am all for the congestion charge and believe that it should be extended and increased. Although people knock London Transport as a whole, I have found it excellent since I started using it every day at the age of 11. Only those working or who are loaded go into the centre of the city. So charge the ball cocks off them!

Posted by Rob Lang, Devil's Advocate at 2003/01/28 10:41:50.

Well said Rob. I think anyone who knocks London transport should try spending some time living just about anywhere else in the country. Then they'd realise how truly shite public transport can be. Sure, maybe there's some capacity issues to deal with, but for the large part my feelings towards London's tubes and buses are very good indeed.

Posted by John at 2003/01/28 13:18:37.

From http://www.deq.state.or.us/aq/education/caad/Details.htm

. Ten seconds of idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.

. Restarting a car many times has little impact on engine components such as the battery and starter motor.

. Idling your vehicle with the air conditioning can increase emissions by 13%. Your car will stay cool for a few minutes after you turn the engine off.

. Excessive idling can be hard on your engine. Because the engine isn't working at peak operating temperature, fuel doesn't undergo complete combustion. This leaves fuel residue that contaminates engine oil and makes spark plugs dirty.

Posted by Anonymous at 2003/12/22 14:11:57.

Post a comment