APUs provide driver comfort without engines idling

APUs provide driver comfort without engines idling

Hypothetically, let’s say you’re manager of a trucking company in Vermont. Capitalizing on the insatiable demand for maple syrup that rages throughout the southeast United States, you maintain a lucrative seasonal business hauling freshly packaged bottles of the sweet treat to Atlanta, Ga., and returning with rolls of carpeting. Each 20-hour leg of the journey is quite popular and you’re able to keep trucks on the road almost constantly.

However, your drivers—being human—occasionally need to rest. When they’re at the end of their shift and it’s time to pull off the road, do they just hunker down in a lot somewhere, letting the truck idle or shut it down and suffer through an excessively hot (or cold) night in their cab?

The answer is no longer an either/or. Thanks to the auxiliary power unit (APU), comfort, convenience and cost effectiveness are within reach, within budget and within the law.

An auxiliary power unit is designed to provide climate control and creature comforts to a driver without the need to idle the engine. According to a report by the Center on Globalization Governance and Competitiveness, “APUs enable truck drivers to access the full range of cabin comforts (e.g., heating, air conditioning, electricity for personal devices such as televisions and cooking devices) without restricting where the truck must stop. Other idle reduction technologies either dictate stopping locations or provide fewer amenities.”

A report from Webasto explains that in 2007, more than 15 different APUs were introduced at the Mid-American Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. “I think one very important thing to include is that APUs are now being classified in three different ways,” says Webasto’s Josh Lupu. The demands are greater than ever and today’s technologies range from diesel-engine designs to hybrids to pure battery-powered units.
the bluecool hybrid thermal storage apu from webasto uses energy stored while the truck is moving to cool the cab, and often is combined with a fuel operated heater. it is fully shore power compatible.
Diesel APUs
“If you have a long-haul trucker who is sleeping 8 hours while idling his truck, he’s using 8 to 10 gallons of fuel over that time,” explains Stacy Peshkopia at Kohler. “An APU would use about 1 to 1.2 gallons of fuel for the same span.”

Peshkopia explains that today’s diesel-powered units are available in different engine sizes (typically two- or three-cylinder liquid cooled—Kohler offers a single-cylinder air-cooled engine) and power configurations. “Just having that small of an engine, the emissions will be a lot less than from the truck itself.”

The diesel APU is, in effect, a small external engine that draws fuel from the truck’s fuel tank and runs whenever it needs to. It can provide power for heating and cooling units, as well as a virtually unlimited electrical supply for in-cab appliances. Because it uses the truck’s fuel supply, it can affect a fleet’s overall miles per gallon figure. Additionally, depending on the model year of the truck, a diesel APU may need to have a diesel particulate filter installed.

Because it is an engine, diesel-powered APUs require regular maintenance, including oil and filter changes, belt replacement and other periodic service, which should be coordinated with other preventive maintenance operations to ensure the APU is working when it is needed.

Battery-powered APUs
“The industry is looking for at least 10 hours of runtime from an electrical APU,” says Charles Fetter, of Glacier Bay. “That’s based on what a driver needs to maintain a comfortable night’s sleep and—while it won’t provide infinite power draw, the right solution will definitely provide the amount of hotel loading that’s required.”

The industry offers appropriate-size units for various vehicles, say experts, but to be most effective, battery-powered systems require four deep-cycle absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries and heavy duty alternators. Battery-powered APUs are designed to be recharged while the truck is in service, and often can be completely recharged in as little as 5 to 6 hours.
Thermo King's TriPac-e all-new electric auxiliary idle reduction and temperature management system.
Dwayne Cowan of Thermo King explains that one system isn’t necessarily right for every truck in your fleet. “In some cases, if you have a split fleet, you may want a battery-based AND an engine-based solution for different parts of the country. You have to look at how it will be used in the fleet.”

He says that APUs are thought of as a year-round option. “Fleets think of the APU as the alternative to idling the tractor engine, so if you think of the engine as providing the heating and cooling, the APU is expected to do that. If the idling is designed to keep the engine block warm, they want the APU to do that.”

So why not let it idle?
Whether it’s diesel- or battery-powered, an APU typically weighs at least 400 lbs. Each unit can cost between $7,000 and $10,000 to install. For a driver’s comfort, is it really worth the expense and effort to incorporate APUs into your vehicle mix? After all, is it really important that a driver is a little sweaty or has to put on a sweater or doesn’t have his nightly bowl of microwave popcorn?

Actually, say experts, yes, those are all important considerations. “Particularly with regard to enforcement and legislation of driver hours and availability, there’s a huge concern right now by fleets to make sure drivers are taken care of,” says Glacier Bay’s Fetter. “An uncomfortable driver is going to lead to some pretty expensive behavior. The reality is, if you have an underpowered APU—or no system—the driver will idle the truck to keep comfortable. And that can lead to other issues, not the least of which is fines or jail time.

A broad range of anti-idling laws are in place across the country, thanks to pressure from the Federal EPA and the California Air Resources Board to reduce emissions and noise levels. However, as Kohler’s Peshkopia points out, enforcement of those laws is often sporadic. Understanding them all is even more doubtful.

“New anti-idling regulations are intended to reduce emissions, which is, of course, ‘greener.’ But it’s very confusing trying to understand where they are all enforced since it’s all handled by various states and municipalities,” she says.

Consider our hypothetical maple syrup hauler. During the 20-plus-hour trip from Maine to Georgia, your drivers will likely pass through 11 different states (including ME, NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, MD, VA, NC, SC and GA), many different counties and hundreds of different cities. Do you know where along that route it may be illegal for him to idle his truck at night to get some comfortable sleep?

As it turns out, every one of those states has anti-idling regulations in place; some (New York) have a variety of regulations. The allowable idle times range from 3 minutes to 15 minutes and violations carry fines ranging from $25 per incident (Maine, for first offenses) to not more than $25,000 (Virginia).

There are a variety of resources available to help fleets make sense of these regulations—or, because the rules seem to be in constant flux, at least know what’s legal NOW. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) updates the listing of state and local idling regulations at its website. The updated listings provide links to individual regulations or can be downloaded as a cab card that can be carried in the truck.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, offers the National Idling Reduction Network, which brings together trucking and transit companies; railroads; ports; equipment manufacturers; Federal, state, and local government agencies (including regulators); nonprofit organizations; and national research laboratories to identify consistent, workable solutions to heavy-vehicle idling for the entire United States. The National Idling Reduction Network News is available online.

“You can be fined for violations, so having a way to avoid idling your tractor is critical in certain areas of the country,” says Thermo-King’s Cowan. “But if you can save money by using an APU, it’s a good investment everywhere. In most cases, if your driver is sleeping overnight in his cab and he’s using the tractor’s engine for climate control, an APU is a good opportunity to save money for your fleet.”

Peshkopia agrees. “Fleets need to make a business decision about APUs. Yes, it’s greener, but I don’t think that’s what’s driving the purchase decision. It’s all about return on investment.”

According to Webasto’s APU whitepaper, fleet executives expect a return on investment of less than two years from idle-reduction technology. However, a study sponsored by the EPA found that ROI of some APUs is “generally longer than anticipated,” due to factors such as acquisition costs, installation, maintenance and repairs. As well, the falling price of diesel fuel means a longer ROI.

“For the APU to be efficient, it’s all dependent on the cost of diesel fuel,” Peshkopia says. “The higher the cost of fuel, the quicker the ROI. When diesel fuel went way up, there was a lot of interest in APUs. Now that the price has come down, ROI may be taking 2 or 2-1/2 years.”

While the demand for APUs may have dropped somewhat due to a longer ROI window, it’s still a widely recognized fact that APUs can be a beneficial addition to fleets, especially from a cost-savings perspective. Cowan reminds us that even though fuel prices may be lower now, “Margins in the trucking industry are not large, and this can be a way to save money. I think fleets need to pay attention to what their fuel costs are when they idle and truly understand how much they’re idling. Some fleets just don’t understand how much fuel they’re burning while idling. Once they do, it’s easy to see how quickly they can see a return on investment with an APU. If you finance the purchase price of an APU for, let’s say, 3 years, it is cash flow positive, because the amount you’re saving in diesel fuel per month will more than cover your monthly cost of the APU.”

Fleets can also use the National Idling Reduction Network News to find out about funding and awards available, as well as other exemptions that can help make APUs more cost effective.

So whom do you turn to when it comes to researching, buying and using APUs in your fleet? “Frankly, the trucking community is close,” says Fetter. “They look for references. They want to know who is using what system and they want to validate what they hear.”

Whether it’s for fuel savings, emissions compliance or simply driver comfort, an APU can be a very important component on that syrup run to Atlanta. “If you have a driver trying to sleep in a cab at night and it’s 20 degrees outside, he’ll have a horrible time trying to keep warm. And in the summer time, you can imagine being in the cab at night trying to keep cool,” Cowan concludes. “Driver shortages were once a problem and they’re starting to become huge again. Keeping a driver comfortable is important for a fleet because of safety reasons, as well as driver retention. Having the ability to keep the driver comfortable is critical to your bottom line for many reasons.”

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