Idle reduction
Avoiding idling time has a multitude of benefits including: savings in fuel and maintenance costs, extending vehicle life, and reducing damaging emissions.
[citation needed] Idling contributes significantly to the transportation sector's portion of yearly greenhouse gas emissions.
The Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center is a reliable resource for information regarding idle-reduction methods such as fuel-operated heaters, auxiliary power units and truck stop electrification.
As fuel prices continue to rise, a major challenge in fleet management is how to keep service vehicles on the road to serve the public while staying within budget.
[5] By some estimates, an automobile with a 3-liter engine burns 0.4 gallons of gas per hour of idling, and generates a little over a pound of CO² every 10 minutes.
America's fleet of around 500,000 long-haul trucks[8] consumes over a billion gallons (3.8×109 l; 830 million imp gal) of diesel fuel per year.
Services such as AireDock, IdleAire and Shorepower[10] provide power at truck stops to resting truckers who would otherwise need to continue idling during mandatory breaks.
Often they idle their engines during this rest time to provide their sleeper compartments with air conditioning or heating or to run electrical appliances such as refrigerators or televisions.
The program also serves as an EnergyStar-like program with a label available to companies that commit “to improve the environmental performance of their freight delivery operations.” [12] The EPA has a national campaign called the Clean School Bus Campaign which works to reduce diesel fuel consumption in school buses across the nation.
In early 2009, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed legislation that reduced the amount of time non-emergency vehicles could idle when they are located near schools.
[16] In 2017, the City of Palo Alto began considering a proposal to stop drivers from running engines when parked.
1808) and may incur fines[19] The regulations apply in zones designated as Air quality management areas by local authorities.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has published a list of local authorities with air quality management areas.
[24] Fuel-operated coolant heaters reduce the need to run engines at idle to warm vehicles such as buses.
[25] In general, coolant heaters burn 1/8 as much fuel as an idling engine would, simultaneously emitting 1/20 of the emissions and directing heat significantly faster to the passenger compartment.
To maintain comfort and amenities, most long haul truck drivers idle their engines for close to ten hours per day to power their heating systems and air conditioners, generate electricity for on-board appliances, charge their vehicle's batteries, and to warm their engines in colder weather.
The United States Department of Transportation estimates there are approximately 5,000 truck stops on the U.S. highway system that provide overnight parking, restrooms, showers, stores, restaurants and fueling stations.
On board TSE solutions allow trucker's the ability to recharge their batteries at truck stops via standard 120 Volt electrical outlets.
Off-board TSE solutions do not typically require any vehicle modifications, as they provide heating and air conditioning services via an overhead unit and hose that connects to the truck's window.
In addition to heating and cooling, these connections can also offer standard electrical outlets, internet access, movies and satellite programming.
The cost of electricity to provide overnight power to trucks can save up to $3,240 of fuel that would normally be consumed by idling per parking space.
[4] The cost of implementing a single TSE site can vary greatly, depending on the type of technology that is employed.
