Mis à jour le 12 May 2022.
Are you the proud owner of a car and would like to lower your fuel consumption? According to a study conducted by the South Korean car manufacturer Kia, music would have a direct impact on fuel consumption. The question remains: how does it work?
Car fuel consumption
With the current increase in energy prices, consumption is at the center of attention for all drivers. So a tip to reduce this consumption is always welcome! In recent years, the use of zero-emission cars has been steadily increasing. Many innovations are emerging in order to improve certain aspects, in particular battery life. However, electric vehicles do not have a large amount of energy on tap, and drivers remain dependent on the number of stations available on the main roads. Long journeys can therefore be a source of stress for the majority of drivers. This feeling has even been named “range anxiety”.
Of course, several tricks have emerged to optimize battery life. Among them, tire pressure, eco-driving, heating and air conditioning management… But did you know that music also has an impact on your energy consumption?
The impact of music on driving
According to a study conducted by Kia and supervised by Dr. Duncan Williams in the UK, music has a direct impact on driving. First, a panel of people drove the new Kia EV6 on a mixed course of 29 kilometers. The course was a combination of urban and extra-urban environments. On the other hand, an acoustics expert played a list of various titles, while sensors were responsible for measuring different data, including heartbeats. The various tracks were played with equal volume, through the same car audio system and with fixed sound settings.
“Different songs resulted in varying electrodermal activity and increased blood flow for each of the participants. This carried over to the driving style and ultimately influenced the actual range of the EV6. »
Survey results
On arrival, the drivers’ average consumption was studied. The results of this survey show that classical music tends to relax the driver. As a result, the driving style was more flexible, less aggressive and the overall battery life was thus optimized.
On average, the range has decreased by 36.17 kilometers. Of the total consumption:
- Classical music represents only 7.7%;
- Peaceful tracks (such as Adele’s Hello) make up 13.3%;
- And the pop / dynamic musical genre represents 23.6%.
The title Symphony No 9 in D Minor Op. 125 by Beethoven is indicated as the best track to listen to in the car. Conversely, it would be better to listen to Blinding Lights , by The Weeknd, during your walks, since this track is the one that would increasing your energy consumption the most while driving. Listening to this musical genre (rhythmic and catchy) tends to make driving three to four times less economical.
