Idle-reduction S=LUTIONS
Engine idling has been around since the 18th century. And it is still hard today NOT to go out to your vehicle and start the engine to warm it up and let the interior room heat or cool along with it. Since the 1980’s, a genius developed the keyless start option and it has revolutionized the auto industry to be the needed standard for all cars. Not very famous in the trucking industry but maybe soon. It is well known that if you let your vehicle warm up it will perform better, same as if you let the cabin area warm or cool, the driver will perform better. Even hybrids will allow a remote or manual startup to let idle. The engine may not start immediately but wanted cabin features will function.
Long-haul truck drivers work long hours transporting goods around the country. When they’re on the road, commercial vehicle drivers must follow HOS regulations:
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Drivers using the sleeper berth provision must take at least 8 consecutive hours in the sleeper berth.
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Plus a separate 2 consecutive hours either in the sleeper berth, off duty or any combination of the two.
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Or they may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
After a full day of driving, drivers need to:
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Eat – Refrigerator, microwave
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Relax – TV, cable box
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Connect – Laptop, tablet, smartphone
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Sleep – CPAP machine, cab/berth heating and cooling
How do most truckers power everything they need? By idling their engines.
Idling is becoming more the enemy in today’s GHG and clean emissions race. Unlike other options for increasing the fuel efficiency of commercial vehicles, idling is a source of inefficiency that can be addressed by a variety of methods. A very diverse array of idle reduction technologies are found on the market today and in future applications. For example:
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Fuel-Operated Heaters - Fuel-operated air heaters, fuel-operated coolant heaters
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Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) – Diesel APUs, battery HVAC, thermal storage systems
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Automatic Engine Start/Stop Systems – Engine turns off and on automatically by ECU set limits
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Vehicle Electrification – Inverters & battery chargers, solar energy capture
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Truck Stop Electrification – “Snorkel” energy source
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Off-board AC Power – Shore power, both vehicle and truck stop electrification
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Driver / Vehicle Behavior Controls – E-engine idle parameters, driver training/incentives
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Additional Vehicle Systems - Cab insulation, CPAP battery, ultracapacitor starting systems
Looking forward, the emerging “smart” energy grid and the ever-increasing penetration of renewables into the North American energy mix should be exploited by idle-reduction efforts. Advancements in the electrification of vehicles, as well as electricity-based idle reduction systems, improvements to battery techs, and other advanced components are emerging that may bolster battery HVAC and truck stop electrification. Electric-based idle reduction solutions could therefore be part of an overall sustainability strategy for the trucking industry in the long term. In sum, it is the hope of TMC’s Future Truck Blog that will catalyze significant new interest in idle reduction technologies as a method for the industry to profitably increase its fuel efficiency and obtain other benefits for truck drivers as well as the environment.
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