Spritmonitor
{{Short description|German website}}
{{Infobox website
| logo = Logo of Spritmonitor.png
| name = Spritmonitor
| url = [http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/ www.spritmonitor.de]
| language = German, English, French, Spanish
| registration = Optional
| owner = Fisch und Fischl GmbH
| num_users = 800,000
| launch_date = January 2001
}}
Spritmonitor is a German website that collects and delivers information about the fuel consumption of vehicles under real-life conditions. The database is provided by the users of the website themselves (crowdsourcing) who log the fuel-ups of their vehicles in the system.
History
The website was created by Thomas Fischl and Dominik Fisch as a side project to their study of computer science at the University of Passau, Germany in 2001.[http://www.uni-passau.de/bereiche/presse/pressemeldungen/meldung/detail/der-wahre-spritverbrauch-auf-spritmonitorde/ Der wahre Spritverbrauch auf Spritmonitor.de] University of Passau. Retrieved February 26, 2017. Initially, the project was known under the name „Consumption Tables“ and was renamed to „Spritmonitor“ after a testing phase („Sprit“ is in Germany colloquial speech for fuel). The website is operated and owned by the Fisch und Fischl GmbH company which was founded in 2008.
== Functions ==
Spritmonitor offers two main functions:
First, it is possible for a car owner to log and track fuel up data and all vehicle-based expenses in the system. Based on this data many different analyses can be performed (e.g., fuel consumption depending on season, kind of fuel, used tires, etc.).[http://www.spritmonitor.de/de/funktionen_von_spritmonitor.html Funktionen von Spritmonitor] Spritmonitor. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.aachener-zeitung.de/news/auto/autoverbrauch-website-sammelt-daten-1.546216 Autoverbrauch: Website sammelt Daten] Aachener Zeitung. Retrieved February 26, 2017. Spritmonitor can be used on the road with the corresponding iPhone-, Android-, and Windows Phone-Apps as well as with the mobile version of the website.
Second, the data base entries of Spritmonitor users can be viewed and analysed by others. Thereby, future car owners do not only have to rely on the fuel consumption published by car manufacturers but they can also get information about the-to-be-expected real-life fuel consumption of a vehicle before buying it.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}
Use in scientific studies and tests
The Spritmonitor data base has reached such a significance in size and quality that it can be used in scientific studies. The ICCT uses the data set in its annual report “From Laboratory To Road” [http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_LaboratoryToRoad_2014_Report_English.pdf From Laboratory To Road 2014] ICCT. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_LaboratoryToRoad_2015_Report_English.pdf From Laboratory To Road 2015] ICCT. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_LaboratoryToRoad_2016.pdf From Laboratory To Road 2016] ICCT. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Lab-to-road-2017_ICCT-white%20paper_06112017_vF.pdf From Laboratory To Road 2017] ICCT. Retrieved May 24, 2020.[https://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Lab_to_Road_2018_fv_20190110.pdf From Laboratory To Road 2018] ICCT. Retrieved May 24, 2020.[https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/On-the-way-to-real-world-WLTP_May2020.pdf On the way to real-world CO2 values] ICCT. Retrieved May 24, 2020.[https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ID-76-–-EU-WLTP_final.pdf On the way to real-world CO2 values? The European passenger car market after 5 years of WLTP] ICCT. Retrieved February 3, 2024. as well as Transport and Environment in its studies “Mind The Gap”[https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/TE_Mind_the_Gap_2015_FINAL.pdf Mind The Gap 2015] Transport and Environment. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/T%26E_Mind_the_Gap_2016%20FINAL_0.pdf Mind The Gap 2016] Transport and Environment. Retrieved February 26, 2017. and “How clean are electric cars?”.[https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/downloads/T%26E’s%20EV%20life%20cycle%20analysis%20LCA.pdf How clean are electric cars?] Transport and Environment. Retrieved April 24, 2020. Also the Deutsche Umwelthilfe refers to Spritmonitor in its publication “Verbrauchsabweichungen in Deutschland und den USA”.[http://www.duh.de/uploads/media/DUH_Hintergrund-Mehrverbrauch_Vergleich_D-USA_2015-02-26.pdf Verbrauchsabweichungen in Deutschland und den USA] Deutsche Umwelthilfe. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
Besides those scientific studies, the Spritmonitor data is also used in vehicles tests of different media.[https://www.heise.de/autos/artikel/Renault-Zoe-mit-41-kWh-Batterie-3334740.html Renault Zoe mit 41 kWh-Batterie] heise Autos. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2014-09/mini-cooper Mini Cooper] Zeit Online. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.zeit.de/auto/2012-08/ford-focus Ford Focus] Zeit Online. Retrieved February 26, 2017.[http://www.focus.de/auto/experten/duennes/oekobilanz-von-elektroautos-besser-als-benzin-oder-oekologisches-feigenblatt-so-sauber-ist-ein-elektroauto-wirklich_id_4914399.html Ökobilanz von Elektroautos] Focus Online. Retrieved February 26, 2017. The German consumer organisation Stiftung Warentest also references Spritmonitor in their guide to buying used cars.[https://www.test.de/Gebrauchtwagen-Augen-auf-beim-Gebrauchtwagenkauf-4989259-0/ So gehen Sie klug vor beim Gebrauchtwagenkauf] Stiftung Warentest. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
Figures
The Spritmonitor data base contains over 1 million vehicles of 800,000 users. All the users together logged over 50 million fuel-ups which correspond to a driven distance of 25 billion kilometres.[http://www.spritmonitor.de/en/ Spritmonitor] Spritmonitor. Retrieved March 2nd, 2025.