US: Mack introduces idle free hybrid system; EPA estimates 960m gallons of diesel wasted annually by idling
Friday, May 25, 2007, AutomotiveWorld.com
Mack Trucks has introduced the Idle Free Hybrid System to the US market which, it reports, uses batteries to provide reliable electrical power and save fuel. Mack claims to be the first truck OEM to develop such a system.
According to the Volvo-owned company, the system uses a bank of high-efficiency absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries to provide stored electrical power for heating, air conditioning and other requirements. Mack claims that the bank of five sealed AGM batteries, which are stored under the sleeping bunk, have a 'long' lifespan.
The batteries can be recharged by the truck's alternator when the engine is running, through a shore power connection when the vehicle is stopped or through a connection to the reefer unit for tractors hauling refrigerated trailers. While idle, the driver can use battery power or shore power for electricity. The system provides either 12-volt or 120-volt power.
The Odyssey AGM 31 batteries are capable of running the air-conditioner for ten hours with an outside air temperature of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the OEM states.
Idle Free uses a Xantrex Prosine 2,000W inverter/charger to control and regulate electrical power and to charge both Idle Free batteries and the truck's batteries. According to the OEM, its complete climate control package includes a Webasto diesel-fired heater and a Dometic HVAC unit.
Jerry Warmkessel, Mack's marketing product manager for highway products, said that the total weight of the Idle Free system including the five batteries, inverter, HVAC and controls, is 370-lbs, which is lesser than traditional auxiliary power units (APU). Warmkessel notes that the system is quiet, does not require maintenance, and, due to its independence from the truck's engine, is not subject to any local idling restrictions.
According to data supplied by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), heavy-duty truck idling in the US consumes 960 million gallons of diesel fuel annually, at a current cost of around US$2.80 per gallon, while the average heavy-duty truck burns 0.8 gallons per hour. The EPA states that annually, truck idling emits 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, 180,000 tonnes of nitrogen oxide and 5,000 tonnes of particulate emissions in the country.
Published on Friday, May 25, 2007
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