If conserving fuel is the single factor you have been concerned about when it comes to reducing idling, it may be time to take a second look at the issue. Idle reduction (IR) has moved from an operational consideration to a matter that affects almost all aspects of a fleet's business. It is still costly to waste fuel idling, more so than ever in fact, but that is only one part of the picture today. Now fleet owners and managers are reviewing a complex matrix of interrelated factors as they make decisions about the best idle reduction solutions for their businesses. From regulatory compliance to meeting customer expectations, reducing driver turnover to staying competitive in a greening marketplace, the issues and the solutions associated with idling have dramatically expanded and changed.

advertisement

ASK THE EXPERTS

“The market is definitely maturing and that includes the vendors, the products, the support structure and the customers, as well,” notes Eduardo Navarro de Andrade, business manager special products, the truck/trailer products group of Carrier Transicold (www.truck trailer.carrier.com).

“On the supplier side, we see that maturation playing out in two key dimensions: product dependability and product support, that is the availability of parts and maintenance services, warranty administration, application support and so on. This reflects itself in new standards of product quality and design. On the customer side today, people are demanding performance, uptime and reliability. They want to know the details, too, such as what adding an APU (auxiliary power unit) or other system will do to their truck engine, for instance, or to battery life or alternator life.

“There is also a greater understanding of the impact of an IR system on driver retention,” he adds, “and there is a growing ‘green’ element. I don't see that as a passing phase, either. Environmental concerns are here to stay. Certainly, they permeate all we do here at Carrier and at our corporate entity, UTC.”

“We have seen a big change in how customers approach the IR system selection process,” says Amy Egerter, spokesperson for Rig Master Power Corp., maker of the RigMaster idle reduction system. (www.rigmasterpower.com). “People used to ask ‘What is it?’ Now they ask, ‘Is it right for my business?’ 2007 was a tough year for a lot of companies and that affected the need for many fleets to evaluate APUs and other idle reduction options. The new idling regulations in California have also drawn a lot of fresh attention to idling regulations elsewhere across the U.S. and Canada.”

“Our business has stepped up dramatically,” observes Tom Kampf, product manager at Thermo King Corp. (www.thermoking.com). “Fleets still focus first on reducing fuel costs, complying with regulations and providing a comfortable working environment for their drivers, but the environmental stewardship issue is adding a whole new dimension. People are expecting more from the products they buy and more from the companies they chose to work with. Ingersoll Rand, our parent company, takes environmental issues very seriously.”

Clearly then, the idle reduction landscape is changing. Here are some of the key factors shaping the market today. Whether or not they will become real “game-changers” going forward remains to be seen. If you are planning to implement an idle reduction solution soon, however, you may want to factor them into your decision process now.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is drawing plenty of fire for its tough new five-minute idling limitation for all diesel-fueled trucks over 10,000 pounds GVWR operating within California's borders (www.arb.ca.gov). Some IR solutions, such as the fuel-operated heaters from Espar and Webasto, battery-based systems, shore power and engine idle shutdown systems, for instance, are already CARB-approved.

Diesel-fueled APUs on new trucks, however, are now required to meet 2007 truck emission standards, which generally means adding their own diesel particulate filters or tying into the truck's exhaust aftertreatment system.

Is CARB's new standard a preview of things to come nationwide or an impossible-to-enforce green goal? The answer depends upon whom you ask.

“Lots of states have pledged to follow California's lead on this, if California can make it work,” says Amy Egerter. “They are just waiting to see how CARB does.”

“We haven't seen the game changing yet because of the new CARB regulations, at least it hasn't changed for Webasto,” says Joe Kirby, North American sales manager for Webasto Products North America (www.webasto.us.) and (www.makealeap.org). “Our air and coolant heaters are approved by CARB for use in California and our BlueCool bunk cooling solution doesn't produce any emissions, so there is no issue there. Actually, we have had more people inquiring about our BlueCool solution since the CARB regulation.”

“Carrier showed its diesel particulate filter (DPF) solution for our APU at The Technology & Maintenance Council meeting this February,” says Andrade, “and we are very comfortable with what we have. We've been engaged with CARB since last April when we applied for approval for our own proprietary device. One challenge with a smaller engine is getting enough energy to handle the required burn-off of soot in the particulate filter. We have a generator, so we have the energy we need to get the job done. CARB reviewed our design and gave us the okay to verify the device in the field. Then there is bench testing after the field testing and post-field test analysis after that. We will present the results to CARB soon. In the meantime, we are finishing up our own internal test program. I honestly don't know if other states will go this way or not. The signals just aren't clear yet,” he adds.

“California may have spurred consequences they didn't expect,” says Bret Reinhardt, president of Sun Power Technologies (www.sunpowertech.com), a supplier of a battery-based AC solution dubbed “Eco-Air,” which can be paired with a fuel-operated heater for CARB-approved heating and cooling. “There are rumors that some fleets may stage ‘turn terminals’ in Nevada or other bordering states, for example, where they can switch freight from sleeper trucks to day cabs to make the trip into California. We'll just have to see how things shake out.”

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2007 Penton Media, Inc.