On the road and at the job site, idle time is inevitable when you’re operating a service truck.
But all that time with the engine running can burn through a lot of fuel — and add up to a significant chunk of your company’s budget.
“When a vehicle is driving, it gets 15 miles to the gallon, but when it’s idling, it’s zero miles to a
“When a vehicle is driving, it gets 15 miles to the gallon, but when it’s idling, it’s zero miles to a gallon.”— Tom Kanewske, vice-president of business development, Derive Systems
gallon,” said Tom Kanewske, vice-president of business development for Derive Systems, a maker of idle-reduction software. “The more the vehicle idles, it pulls down that total MPG by a huge amount … that’s a massive bottom line driver in terms of efficiency. And when you think of bottom line costs, it really, really hurts.”
An expanding area of technology aims to ease that pain, with systems that regulate idle fuel use — or regulate idle time altogether. A panel of experts, including Kanewske, delved into the issue earlier this year at the National Truck Equipment Association’s annual Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. In interviews after the show, they said fleet managers have a number of options to consider if they’re looking to target idle time as an area to boost efficiency.
Good reasons for idling
Kanewske said companies should first take a broad look at when and why their trucks are idling. More often than not, he said, it’s for good reason: the truck’s power is needed to run equipment, the driver is gearing up to head to his or her next call, or the truck is stuck in traffic. Even if a driver is just having lunch or making a call, maybe the conditions outside are too extreme to have the engine off.
“There are tons of reasons for that vehicle to be idling, and for those cases we say if it is idling, is there a way to optimize the mode of idling?” he said. “The short answer is: yes.”
Derive Systems’ solution involves using software that helps alter how an individual vehicle functions. Using the truck’s computer system, the software gathers information about how the vehicle is used — things like speed and mileage — and data about outside elements, like weather, traffic and routes.
Then, the company customizes the vehicle’s software to ensure that it’s using only the power it really needs. Unlike other solutions to the idling problem, it doesn’t deal in converting vehicles’ power systems to accommodate additional batteries or other hybrid energy solutions. Instead, it just makes a truck “smarter” about its fuel use.
The technology is useful both for reducing the impact of both useful and unnecessary idle time, Kanewske said. If a fleet is having trouble with drivers’ speeding, braking or wasteful idling, the software can be set to limit all of those behaviors – avoiding the problem of having a manager continually issue reminders that may or may not be heeded. He said setting up the system is about as easy as doing the initial setup on a new iPhone.
“We’re able to cut out that middle man – management – and go directly from, ‘you’re idling too much’ to saving fuel,” he said.
Software saves on fuel
Using the software to control speed and idling can amount to noticeable fuel savings, Kanewske said. The company offers a guarantee: that fleets will see a six- to 12 percent savings in fuel after installing their systems.
Bruce Beegle, the vice-president for truck and military sales at Vanner Inc., an Ohio-based
“We’ll sit down with a fleet and talk about some truck, and at the end I’ll say: ‘What else are you not telling me about – a coffee pot? Microwave?”— Bruce Beegle, vice-president for truck and military sales, Vanner Inc.
producer of vehicle power conversion systems, said his company’s electronic systems help fleets use electrical power to keep their vehicles running.
That process typically begins with a load analysis, where the company looks for any and all ways that power gets drained from the vehicle.
“We’ll sit down with a fleet and talk about some truck, and at the end I’ll say: ‘What else are you not telling me about – a coffee pot? Microwave?” he said.
Beegle said any small appliance or item that wasn’t part of the truck’s initial design could be making it less fuel efficient. His company figures out how much power a vehicle needs, and when it needs it. Then, it’s a matter of figuring out where an electrical system can be installed.
Depending on the type of vehicle and how and where it is used, trucks need different sizes of auxiliary batteries, alternators, cables and other components. To explain how it all comes together – and how much the systems can vary to meet a particular fleet’s needs — Beegle likes to highlight some of the companies using Vanner systems.
Battery solution
Among them: Fleet Electric, a Worchester, Mass.-based telecom fleet that replaced its trucks’ generators with battery systems. The battery takes up about the same amount of space and can be recharged as the trucks go to and from job sites. For Safelite Auto Glass, Vanner designed a system that keeps the engine off at job sites and recharges an auxiliary battery while on the road. Previously, Safelite had left vehicles idling for hours at job sites.
“They are good examples of taking conventional technology, understanding the applications and sizing and balancing the system correctly,” Beegle said.
Like the Derive Systems software, the Vanner idle reduction systems are designed to be easy for fleets to use.
“A lot of fleets like that their guys can repair it – it’s not some exotic thing,” Beegle said. “It’s components that are on these trucks all day.
Ryan Hulleman, green fleet market manager for Altec Inc., said his company’s idle-reduction
“Quiet job sites allow for improved crew communication, less interruption to the neighborhood and a more pleasant working environment.”— Ryan Hulleman, green fleet market manager, Altec Inc.
offering is what it calls Jobsite Energy Management Systems, or JEMS. The technology is available on most of Altec’s models and uses electric power to take over during idling.
“Stored energy from a truck mounted lithium ion battery pack provides the energy needed for operating the vehicle’s aerial device, outriggers, 12 V accessories, lights and cabin comfort systems,” he said.
Quiet benefits
In addition to fuel savings, Hulleman said reducing engine idling cuts down on maintenance – and unpleasant work environments.
“Quiet job sites allow for improved crew communication, less interruption to the neighborhood and a more pleasant working environment,” he said.
Fleets using JEMS can track their results in a controller mounted in the truck or online. Hulleman said fleets of a variety of sizes and industries, from small city government operations to large electric utilities, have made use of the systems.
He expects more fleets will find themselves looking for innovative ways to cut idle time, if they’re not already.
“We’re all very eager to see how battery technology develops over the next couple of years,” he said. “Improvements in energy density and performance in extreme climates will help to improve the attractiveness of hybrid solutions.”
Beegle, with Vanner, agrees — but he said the success of these types of systems is often contingent on how seamless it is for fleets to introduce to their vehicles, drivers and mechanics.
“If it’s too complex to do, or you need a lot of training, your best guys will do it, your worst guys will never do it, and the guys in the middle will have some level of compliance,” he said. “But if you make it transparent to the user, your odds of success grow exponentially.”
— Erin Golden
Erin Golden is a writer based in Minnesota.