Eaton, Webasto Announce No Idle Technologies

Eaton Corporation and Webasto have announced no idle or significant idle reduction technologies to improve fuel economy and emissions reductions during periods while trucks are parked.

With only limited options available until now, truckers have regularly idled their engines to run the factory-installed air conditioning if they wish to rest comfortably when summer temperatures rise.  But legislation in more than 20 states and Canada, plus increased pressure nationally from the EPA, is making that practice illegal.  In most cases, local laws prohibit the idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds for more than five minutes when not engaged in work activities.  Additionally, city mayors of at least 225 major metropolitan areas nationwide have recently taken a pledge to adopt laws and policies (including anti-idling legislation) that support the goals of the Kyoto Protocol.

Fleets using Eaton's heavy-duty hybrid system will experience reduced fuel consumption both while driving and when parked. Recent independent test results have shown a 5-7 percent savings versus a conventional Class 8 vehicle while driving, and a savings of one gallon per hour when parked. Those savings equate to about $9,500 a truck per year in normal operation, resulting in cost savings for a typical truckload carrier with 1,000 power units to $9.5 million per year.

The idle reduction mode in Eaton's heavy-duty hybrid system will enable fleets to save fuel, reduce emissions and comply with rapidly expanding local anti-idling laws. The system's batteries power the heating, air conditioning, and vehicle electrical systems while the engine is off. When the idle reduction mode is active, engine operation is limited to battery charging, an automatically controlled process that will take approximately five minutes per hour. In the proposed system design, a proprietary feature minimizes engine vibration during start-up and shut-down during the recharge periods, allowing the driver to rest without interruption

Webasto's technology, called BlueCool Truck, is installed on tractor-trailers to keep interior bunk temperatures near 70 degrees for up to 10 hours, allowing drivers to sleep comfortably, without
idling their truck engine.

The fuel savings alone allows the BlueCool Truck system to amortize in a short time, because a traditional idling truck diesel engine consumes about one gallon of fuel per hour.  Unlike Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) on the market, this system does not use the vehicle's fuel, and puts out zero emissions.  Fleets and owner-operators can accrue fuel savings of thousands of dollars by utilizing their system.

Designed for no-idle bunk cooling while the driver sleeps, BlueCool Truck is charged while the truck is moving down the road.  It provides cool cabin air via stored thermal energy, and uses minimal 12-volt power to run fans and circulate the coolant.  The patented system uses no diesel fuel during the cooling operation because it runs independently of the vehicle's air conditioning system.  It uses only small amounts of electricity to circulate super chilled coolant between Webasto's innovative cold storage unit and a heat exchanger in the truck sleeper cab -- all run by four small, exceptionally quiet air distribution fans.

These are but two of the many relatively minor technologies that will required to reduce the fuel consumption and emissions to meet our goals in the future.  While each of these technologies may contribute a relatively small amount, it is only through the use of many technologies, each of small impact, that we can meet our goals.

Eaton Announces Plans to Develop Heavy-Duty Hybrid System For Trucks, Eaton press release, June 22, 2006
Webasto BlueCool Truck Commences Idle-Free Technology Tour, Webasto press release, June 26, 2006

Comments

[Bde2200]

More along these lines, with a bigger fuel saving potential:

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/technology/recentdevelopments.htm

[Jim from The Energy Blog]

This technology is being developed for large trucks (over 10,000 lb). I am aware of the hydraulic technology that Bde2200 referred to which is being developed for smaller trucks. I have started a post on that subject, but so far it has not been a priority since several other blogs have already reported on it.

[Charles S]

"While each of these technologies may contribute a relatively small amount, it is only through the use of many technologies, each of small impact, that we can meet our goals."

I agree with above 100%. I've been defending hybrids and alt-fuels to nay-sayers in many forums, and a few years back, when gas prices were still relatively low, the issue of small savings was a big part in shooting down hybrids at the time.

If only I can find the news article, I remembered that GM was quoted saying that "x" percent in savings of the hybrid drive train was not worth the effort/cost. But for those who own hybrids, we know that it's a combination of many technologies, and the effort in design that really produce the results.

Obviously GM didn't want to take the risk in the production of hybrids, but its negative comment about the small, incremental savings of a specific part of the hybrids really did caught on in the anti-hybrid crowd. If it weren’t for the recent events in oil markets, this negative view (of "it saves too little, so it's not worth the effort") would have been another tool in the arsenal in selling the same old inefficient cars and trucks.

I find it equally ironic that CVT is now the "new buzz" in low-cost, fuel-saving technology. While CVT has been around for awhile, Nissan is pushing the gear box as the new niche in saving fuel for their line of vehicles. I hope people will not get disappointed when the one CVT-name magic bullet didn't really yield the big savings Nissan is trying to project.

The sooner people realize that the sum of the parts is the answer, the sooner we will see the shift from gadget-gimmicks to advance automotive designs.

[Douglas Luke Christian]

Dear Friends,

We could fit a lot of solar cells on the roofs of the box-cars that ride behind semi trucks - and then feed that energy into some batteries in a semi. Consider also the Toyota Prius - it is Gas-Electric Hybrid, right? Why not charge the batteries partly via weather proof solar cells on the roof? They have greatly improved solar cells in recent years, and the cost of production has come down as well. We should be making Solar And Gas-Electric (SAGE) vehicles.

Cheers!
Douglas