Hoot Guide to alternative fuelsSome of the people who switch to cheap car insurance from Hoot tell us they felt a bit ‘used' by their previous car insurance company. Once the money has changed hands, they say, the other providers just forget about you until such time as you've got a claim to make or your policy comes up for renewal (in which case they get right back to asking for money). Mind you, that's pretty much all most other people expect from their car insurance firm. Insurance is about risk, after all, and if the gamble doesn't pay off – i.e. you don't have an accident – you shouldn't expect anything in return. Or should you? Well, the staff here at Hoot think so. That's why, on top of all the normal motor insurance services that our competitors offer, every Hoot customer gets access to a range of free extras that you're certain to find useful, crash or not. Take the Hoot Guides, for instance. This ever-expanding collection of articles from our cheap car insurance team covers all aspects of motoring; everything from passing the MOT test to reading road signs. It's all free and it's all online, so if you urgently need to know about the London congestion charge at 3am, you now know where to find out! This guide is about alternative fuels, and biodiesel in particular. We'll cover the benefits of biofuel over conventional petrol and explain the legal issues which affect its use. What alternative fuels are there?
Environmental concerns and the highest petrol duty in Europe mean there has long been demand for alternative fuel sources in the UK. There are plenty of alternatives out there: hydrogen cells, ethanol, natural gas, stored electricity, solar power, peanut oil – to name but a few. However, none of these can be used without getting some pretty extensive conversion work done to your car, or else buying a new one. In fact, only one of the alternative fuels so far discovered works in a conventional, unmodified car. It's called ‘biodiesel' and, as the name suggests, it can be used in place of regular diesel in a regular diesel engine. The benefits of biodiesel
Besides its compatibility with standard car engines, biodiesel has a number of advantages both over fossil fuels and the other alternatives. Firstly, it pollutes far less than regular diesel. Mile for mile, the production and use of biodiesel accounts of about 80 percent less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, and 100 percent less sulphur dioxide. On top of that, it is far safer as a chemical both for the environment and the people who handle it. If spilled, biodiesel breaks down into harmless sugar (good news for sea birds) and its flashpoint is over double that of regular diesel, meaning far less risk of an explosion while transporting or storing it. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, a sustainable and renewable resource. Even better, it can be produced from waste oil used for cooking, and as such is a recycled product. Rape seed for the oil can be grown worldwide and biodiesel can easily be produced on a domestic scale, which could bring an end to the conflict over oil reserves. Lastly, not only can biodiesel be used in place of regular diesel, the two can also be mixed and combusted together without any ill effects. That means there's no need to drain your fuel tank when switching, and no problem topping up with regular diesel every once in a while if you're caught short. Biodiesel availability
Getting hold of a tank of biodiesel is a little more involved than nipping down to your local garage, but it's getting easier all the time. Suppliers are springing up across the country, so keep an eye on websites like HYPERLINK "http://www.biodieselfillingstations.co.uk/" for details of your nearest pump. When filling up, you need to be aware that biodiesel and regular diesel are commonly sold together in a blended form. The most popular blend is called B20, which signifies 20 percent biodiesel to 80 percent regular (likewise B5 is a blend with just 5 percent biodiesel). However, neat biodiesel (B100) is available elsewhere for the purists. Legal issues
Sadly for those who thought biodiesel offered a way to avoid fuel duty, the government has declared it taxable just like conventional fuels. However, as a concession to its environmentally-friendly qualities the duty rate has been set lower for biodiesel, meaning many bio-suppliers can beat the price of regular UK diesel by a few pence per litre. If you're producing or thinking of producing biodiesel on a commercial scale, you are required to submit details of your operation to HM Customs and pay the applicable fuel duty. Making biodiesel illegally is a temptingly simple business, but the penalties for doing so are severe – so don't try it. Try cheap car insurance from Hoot
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