September 2008

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Wisconsin’s extends it’s diesel truck idling reduction program application deadline.

25 September 2008 in APU | No comments

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce has extended the deadline for it’s idling reduction program until December 1st 2008.

The slowdown in the economy, high fuel prices, and a high initial cost of idling reduction units may be the reasons that the grant money has not been utilized as early as in years past. While the program does reimburse companies and owner-operators from Wisconsin up to 50% of the cost of idling reduction units and idling alternatives, the owner operator or company must pay for the units up front and report on their idling habits before checks are sent.

Wisconsin Diesel Idling Reduction Program

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EPA announces the distribution of the first $3.4 million of it’s Diesel Emissions Reduction Program.

25 September 2008 in APU | No comments

Press Release

(Washington, D.C. – Sept. 24, 2008) To improve air quality and protect public health, EPA today announced the first $3.4 million in funding for clean diesel projects under the $50 million Diesel Emission Reduction Program. This campaign makes awards to save fuel and lower greenhouse gas and diesel exhaust emissions from the country’s existing fleet of 11 million diesel engines.

“This fall, EPA is paving the way for clean diesel progress,” said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. “These grants encourage technologies that will help truckers save over $72 million in fuel costs per year and lower their environmental impacts.”

Three organizations received $3.4 million for small trucking firms to lower fuel costs and shrink their carbon footprints through innovative loans and rebates. The organizations receiving funds under the national diesel program are: the Community Development Transportation Lending Services, Washington, D.C.; Cascade Sierra Solutions, Oregon; and Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Missouri.

EPA will also begin disbursing $14.8 million for State Clean Diesel programs. All 50 states will receive funds, and 35 states will put matching resources toward the program. Later this fall, $27.6 million in grants will be distributed by EPA’s ten Regional offices. Finally, grant awards for emerging technologies totaling approximately $3.4 million will be announced this winter.

Diesel engines emit 7.3 million tons of smog-forming nitrogen oxides and 333,000 tons of soot annually. This pollution is linked to thousands of premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and millions of lost work days. EPA’s new diesel engine standards will significantly reduce emission from newly manufactured engines, and these grants will lower emissions from the diesel engines already in use through clean innovative technology.

EPA clean diesel program

OOIDA’s special report on it’s role in the clean diesel program

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Webasto Honored With Prestigious Frost & Sullivan Environmental Technology Award

17 September 2008 in Webasto BlueCool Truck | No comments

FENTON, Mich., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ — Webasto, a global leader in heating and cooling solutions for the light and heavy-duty transportation industries, was awarded the renowned 2008 Frost & Sullivan Anti-Idling Systems Technology Innovation Leadership of the Year Award. The award highlights the excellence shown by Webasto in developing the most innovative, efficient, cost-effective and emission-reducing solution to the problem of truck idling.

“At Webasto, we’re committed to developing and providing technologies that not only meet environmental needs but also are economically and operationally attractive to our customers,” said John Thomas, Director of Commercial Vehicles / Environmental and Regulatory Affairs, Webasto Product North America (WPNA) Inc. “We’re proud to be receiving this award, which recognizes that Webasto’s Storage Core Technology, named BlueCool Truck, is a better, cleaner, more cost-effective, more efficient solution for truck operators than any other idle-free cab cooling technology available today. BlueCool Truck is the only zero-emission engine-off cooling technology to have received approval fromCalifornia’s Air Resources Board (CARB).”

Unnecessary truck idling is a leading cause of atmospheric and noise pollution. Many states, provinces, metropolitan areas and municipalities acrossthe United States andCanada are enforcing strict idling regulations that limit the time trucks may idle — which typically takes place overnight or during rest periods when operators use the truck’s engine-powered heating/ventilation system to provide a comfortable cab environment. Unnecessary idling is also a major cause of diesel fuel expenditure: according to statistics by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), traditional truck engine idling burns nearly one gallon of fuel per hour, totaling an average of 2,400 gallons per year per truck. With diesel prices hovering around $4 per gallon, that’s a major contributor to fuel expenditure, which is the largest operating cost for fleets and truck owner-operators.

Frost & Sullivan cited technology, return-on-investment, payback potential, environmental footprint, and upfront and lifecycle costs as the major focal points for potential adopters of anti-idling solutions. “BlueCool Truck, a part of Webasto’s Engine-Off Comfort Solutions portfolio, is an anti-idling solution that addresses these issues directly and comprehensively,” said Sandeep Kar, Frost & Sullivan Heavy-Truck Technologies Program Manager. “Webasto’s BlueCool Truck no-idling bunk cooler showcases its technology innovation leadership in idling regulation compliance systems. This unique and innovative technology offers a solution to fleets and owner-operators on the issues of regulation compliance, emissions and idling reduction, and most importantly, operating cost reduction.”

In addition, Webasto has emerged as a prime mover and a leading innovator in anti-idling solutions for heavy trucks. “The company has effectively leveraged its competencies in air-conditioning, comfort and convenience technologies, and its proximity to vehicle manufacturers across the globe to develop BlueCool Truck,” Kar added. “It’s a cost-effective anti-idling solution for heavy truck original equipment and aftermarket channels alike.”

BlueCool Truck’s High-Tech Operating System:

BlueCool Truck’s source of cooling is a high-tech cold storage unit that is charged (frozen) while the truck is running. During times of driver rest, the system utilizes only small amounts of electricity from the existing vehicle batteries (no additional batteries are needed) to circulate super-chilled coolant between the cold storage unit and a heat exchanger installed in the truck sleeper cabin. Pushed by four small, exceptionally quiet air distribution fans, the cold air will keep the bunk area cool for up to 10 hours in most ambient conditions. Once charged, the system uses no diesel fuel and therefore produces no emissions during the cooling operation because it runs independently of the OEM air conditioning system.

The principle behind how BlueCool Truck works is not new. Using a natural phenomenon called latent heat, freezing the cold storage unit enables the storage of around 60 times more chilling capacity than if the unit remained liquid. However, it has been known for centuries that ice has poor thermal conductivity and extracting cooling from ice efficiently and effectively is extremely difficult. This problem has been overcome in BlueCool Truck by embedding the water/ice in a high-tech graphite matrix with a resulting thermal conductivity that is 100 times better than a pure water/ice exchange. The design provides a highly efficient, compact and dynamic thermal energy storage system that produces an assured cooling output at a constant temperature.

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The perfect APU (with current technology).

14 September 2008 in APU | No comments

After all of the research that I have done to get this site up and running, I have come to see the advantages and shortcomings of a lot of idling alternatives. I have come up with the characteristics of what would make the best APU. It would surely be expensive, but if you are spending enough money to buy a small car, you want it to be right.

  1. Start with a Kubota engine.  Great dealer network, a long service interval, and a reputation for reliability.  Optionally 2 cylinders for a liteweight model or a 3 cylinder for a no comprimise model.
  2. A 6000 watt generator.  This would give you plenty of power for a rooftop A/C if you have a large sleeper.
  3. The APU would be tied into the main engine but would have shutoff valves in case one or the other springs a leak.  Optional separate APU radiator and Webasto/Espar coolant heater for those who don’t like the engine tied in.
  4. Auto start/stop for cabin temperature, low battery, block temperature, and a day/hr timer.  All of these settings would need to be ajustable.
  5. Heat would come from a Webasto or Espar diesel fired heater.  These are incredibly efficient at around .04 gallons per hour and their reliablity is bankable.
  6. A/C would come from a rooftop unit, back of wall unit, under bunk unit, or under floor unit.  Some of these are not commercially available, but the technology exists for a company like Dometic, Carrier, or Coleman to easily create one.  This would eliminate the need for ducting, one of the biggest capacity thieves of current A/C units.  Any one of these units should be repairable cheaply or completely replaceable for under $500.
  7. As many parts as possible would be non-proprietary.  You should be able to replace the alternator, air filter, oil filter, fuel filter, and belts from Wal-Mart or any auto parts store in under one hour.

Because of the non-proprietary nature of the APU service locations would be plentiful.  It would also be simple enough that a owner or general service person could work on it.  The only proprietary part on the unit would be the electronics.

I know that it isn’t possible for a given APU to be perfect for everyone, but with a non-proprietary, open approach, additions or options would make the purchase the best choice for more situations.

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Some tips to get better heating and cooling from your HVAC unit.

12 September 2008 in APU, Carrier ComfortPro | No comments

Who doesn’t wish that they could get better heating and cooling from their APU or battery powered anti-idling unit?  Those of us with large sleepers and dark paint know that when the weather gets hot, their APU is going to run 24/7.  My friend Gary posted some great tips in the forums about how to give your HVAC a boost.

I purchased a Pro Heat APU last year. I have a black Volvo 770 so it takes a lot of air conditioning to cool it off, the sun is not my friend in the summer. I have been in the Pro Heat shop a few times and have always asked if there was anything I could do to improve the performance of the air conditioning. Always the same answer, no. 

If I was in 90 degree heat in the sun the Pro Heat just would not do the job. Even with the curtains closed it could not keep the sleeper cool. 

One day my brother in law (Joe)was over to my house and had remembered me telling him about the problem he asked if he could take a look, he is trained in heat and air conditioning . Within five minutes he pointed out what he thought the problems were. 

1:On the install they had cut two, three inch holes for my cold air return when the Hvac unit has a twelve inch by twelve inch opening that it draws from. My Hvac was starving for air.

2:The air ducts were routed through my tool box area and were not insulated. Joe said that I was losing a lot of cooling btu’s through the walls of the ducting system. 

3: Joe pointed out that on my set up they had cut a hole in my existing truck duct system and just stuck one of my APU ducts in there and that again I would lose cooling btu’s by having to cool the duct system and that the cool air would naturally fall back into the truck a/c unit. Also, the way they just stuck the APU duct into my truck system the truck system had been partially blocked which decreased my truck a/c performance. 

4:Joe pointed out that even though the truck has electric shut off valves on the input to the trucks heaters that there is always back feed which will put some warm water from the engine back into the truck heaters making the cab harder to cool. 

So, I purchased a roll of four inch insulated hose from Menard’s $28.00 bucks and just slid it over the factory three inch APU hoses. 

Then I pulled the APU duct out of my trucks ducting system and made a new vent for it then patched the truck duct. The new vent cost $6.00. 

After that I went to the hardware store and bought a standard twelve inch by twelve inch return vent, Where they had cut two tiny three inch cold air return holes I cut an eleven inch by eleven inch hole and covered it with the vent I had purchased at the hardware store, cost $10.00. 

Finally I bought two inline valves and installed them in both the input and output of the truck heater. Cost $10.00

The result… Well, I am in Richmond,VA it is 91 outside and my truck is sitting in the sun. Before I made the changes Joe suggested the Pro Heat would never shut off and would not keep me cool. Now, it cycles as it should, shutting the APU off when the cab temp is down to my desired temperature. Then it starts back up when the cab warms up. 

What surprises me is that this multi million dollar company goes through so much effort to build a good unit, then does not properly install them to work up to their potential. 

 

 

Happy APUing

If you have some tips to add, post them in the comments, in the forums, or even better, do both.

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