Coca-Cola Refreshments Class 8 Diesel Electric Hybrid Tractor Evaluation: 13-Month Final Report.
8/1/2012
This 13-month evaluation used five Kenworth T370 hybrid tractors and five Freightliner M2106 standard diesel tractors at a Coca Cola Refreshments facility in Miami, Florida. The primary objective was to evaluate the fuel economy, emissions, and operational field performance of hybrid electric vehicles when compared to similar-use conventional diesel vehicles. A random dispatch system ensures the vehicles are used in a similar manner. GPS logging, fueling, and maintenance records and laboratory dynamometer testing are used to evaluate the performance of these hybrid tractors. Both groups drive similar duty cycles with similar kinetic intensity (0.95 vs. 0.69), average speed (20.6 vs. 24.3 mph), and stops per mile (1.9 vs. 1.5). The study demonstrated the hybrid group had a 13.7% fuel economy improvement over the diesel group. Laboratory fuel economy and field fuel economy study showed similar trends along the range of KI and stops per mile. Hybrid maintenance costs were 51% lower per mile; hybrid fuel costs per mile were 12% less than for the diesels; and hybrid vehicle total cost of operation per mile was 24% less than the cost of operation for the diesel group.
Authors: Walkowicz, K.; Lammert, M.; Curran, P.
What is FuelEconomy.gov?
7/1/2012
FuelEconomy.gov is an Internet resource that helps consumers make informed fuel economy choices when purchasing a vehicle and achieve the best fuel economy possible from the cars they own.
FuelEconomy.gov is maintained by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The site helps fulfill DOE and EPA's responsibility under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to provide accurate miles per gallon (MPG) information to consumers.
Analyzing Vehicle Fuel Saving Opportunities through Intelligent Driver Feedback
4/16/2012
Driving style changes, e.g., improving driver efficiency and motivating driver behavior changes, could deliver significant petroleum savings. This project examines eliminating stop-and-go driving and unnecessary idling, and also adjusting acceleration rates and cruising speeds to ideal levels to quantify fuel savings. Such extreme adjustments can result in dramatic fuel savings of over 30%, but would in reality only be achievable through automated control of vehicles and traffic flow. In real-world driving, efficient driving behaviors could reduce fuel use by 20% on aggressively driven cycles and by 5-10% on more moderately driven trips. A literature survey was conducted of driver behavior influences, and pertinent factors from on-road experiments with different driving styles were observed. This effort highlighted important driver influences such as surrounding vehicle behavior, anxiety over trying to get somewhere quickly, and the power/torque available from the vehicle. Existing feedback approaches often deliver efficiency information and instruction. Three recommendations for maximizing fuel savings from potential drive cycle improvement are: 1) leveraging applications with enhanced incentives, 2) using an approach that is easy and widely deployable to motivate drivers, and 3) utilizing connected vehicle and automation technologies to achieve large and widespread efficiency improvements.
Authors: Gonder, J.; Earleywine, M.; and Sparks, W.
Notes: Posted with permission. Presented at the 2012 SAE World Congress and Exhibition, April 24-26, 2012, Detroit, Michigan.
Idling: Cruising the Fuel Inefficiency Expressway
6/1/2011
The impacts of idling are substantial, with as much as 2 billion gallons of fuel burned unnecessarily each year in the United States at a cost of over $4 billion. The extra hours of engine operation also cost the owners money for more frequent maintenance and overhauls. In addition, idling vehicles emit particulates (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide (CO2). These emissions, along with noise from idling vehicles, have led to many local and state restrictions on idling.
This study presents the first comparison of IR technologies with each other and with idling on the basis of both costs and full fuel?]cycle emissions, for different locations, fuel prices, and idling patterns. The preferences described are for the technologies that reduce total emissions the most and cost truck owners the least. We also discuss how regulatory issues and legislation affect IR, what financial incentives help to promote IR, and how outreach and education approaches can be adopted to reduce the need to idle. Finally, we offer a prediction of how future research and development (R&D), regulations, and citizens can help to improve fuel economy and clean the air. This report focuses on heavy-duty vehicles.
Authors: Gaines, L.; Levinson, T.
Guide for Identifying and Converting High-Potential Petroleum Brownfield Sites to Alternative Fuel Stations
5/1/2011
Former gasoline stations that are now classified as brownfields can be good sites to sell alternative fuels because they are in locations that are convenient to vehicles and they may be seeking a new source of income. However, their success as alternative fueling stations is highly dependent on location-specific criteria, how to prioritize them, and then applies that assessment framework to five of the most popular alternative fuels?electricity, natural gas, hydrogen, ethanol, and biodiesel.
The second part of this report delves into the criteria and tools used to assess an alternative fuel retail site at the local level. It does this through two case studies of converting former gasoline stations in the Seattle-Eugene area into electric charge stations.
The third part of this report addresses steps to be taken after the specific site has been selected. This includes choosing and installing the recharging equipment, steps to take in the permitting process and key players to include.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Hettinger, D.
FedEx Express Gasoline Hybrid Electric Delivery Truck Evaluation: 12-Month Report
1/1/2011
This document presents the final results of a technology evaluation of gasoline hybrid electric parcel delivery trucks operated by FedEx Express in and around Los Angeles, California. FedEx Express is a large commercial fleet that operates more than 30,000 motorized vehicles and has hybrid electric (diesel and gasoline) vehicles currently in service. FedEx Express has deployed 20 gasoline hybrid electric vehicles (gHEVs) on parcel delivery routes in the Sacramento and Los Angeles areas. These gHEVs (Figure 1) are built upon a Ford E-450 strip chassis, and each vehicle is powered by a Ford 5.4L gasoline engine and Azure Dynamics, Inc. (AZD) Balance Hybrid System. Additional vehicle information is discussed in subsequent sections, while the specifics of the hybrid system evaluated are presented in Table 1. FedEx Express was the domestic launch customer for the AZD Balance Hybrid electric product.
Authors: Barnitt, R.
To Idle or Not to Idle: That is the Question
11/1/2010
Should I idle my car to warm it up before I drive? Should I shut the engine off while waiting to pick up a passenger or for a train to go by? Is it better to pick up food at a drive-through or to park and go into the restaurant? These are common questions that people ask when they want to know more about how to drive "green." There are conflicting answers in the literature, which has led to confusion. This poster presents the results of measurements performed on both diesel and gasoline passenger vehicles at Argonne National Laboratory. The answers are found to depend on vehicle type, ambient temperature, time, local laws, and what criteria are used to define "green."
Improving Truck Efficiency and Reducing Idling
10/1/2010
Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) authorized this study into improving heavy-duty vehicle efficiency while reducing idling. Appendixes include a comparison of idle reduction technologies, a compendium of idling regulationsl, state and federal anti-idling initiatives, and various idle reduction technologies.
DEQ recommends that the 2011 Oregon Legislature authorize the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt regulations substantially similar to California?s heavy-duty greenhouse gas measure, including provisions for financial hardship deferrals, with adequate lead-time and notice to all affected parties. The details of this recommendation begin on page 35 of this report. DEQ also recommends that the 2011 Legislature authorize the Environmental Quality Commission to adopt regulations limiting unnecessary idling by commercial vehicles, incorporating the major elements of the US Environmental Protection Agency Model Idling Law that itself was the result of a national stakeholder consensus to provide effective, realistic and uniform controls on unnecessary idling across the country.
Authors: Downing, K.; Matthews, S.
An Action Plan for Cars: The Policies Needed to Reduce U.S. Petroleum Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
12/1/2009
Reducing petroleum consumption and GHG emissions from cars and light?]duty trucks in the United States over the next several decades requires that we implement a clear and coordinated set of policies now. This report describes a portfolio of policies which, in the view of the authors, is needed to put personal vehicle transportation on the road to sustainability in the longer term. To incentivize adoption of more fuel efficient vehicles, we propose coupling existing near?]term fuel economy standards with a feebate incentive program and gradual increases in fuel taxes. We further propose driver education initiatives that would give vehicle owners information on how to maximize fuel savings in their purchase and driving decisions. Finally, we underscore the need for a long?]term strategy for fuels that evaluates fuels?]related programs based on their contribution to reducing life?]cycle petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Together, these policies offer a robust plan of action that will focus and streamline current efforts to achieve these two important national goals. Perhaps most importantly, this plan lays a much?]needed foundation for a comprehensive, adaptable long?]term policy effort. A more detailed summary of the recommended set of policy measures can be found in Section 2.
Authors: Heywood, J.; Baptista, P.; Berry, I.; Bhatt, K.; Cheah, L.; De Sisternes, F.; Karplus, V.; Keith, D.; Khusid, M.; MacKenzie, D.; McAulay, J.
Compendium of Regulatory Language of U.S. Idle Ordinances and Laws
2/1/2009
Beginning with EPA's model state idling law, this document presents the regulatory language for all known city, county, multi-jurisdictional, and statewide idle laws across the United States. The regulatory language presented represents idle laws as incorporated by the controlling authorityat the time of collation. These laws vary in their prescribed maximum idle times, number and type of exceptions, and geographic scope. They are presented so that an interested party can use these laws to help guide creation of idle laws that suit their area. Pdf includes an interactive contents page to direct reader to state and city.
School Bus Idling Reduction: Project Report and Implementation Guide for Oklahoma School Districts
1/1/2009
School bus idling wastes fuel and financial resources while producing exhaust emissions that are harmful to human health and the environment. Beginning in late 2006, the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, Choctaw-Nicoma Park Public Schools, and the Oklahomas Department of Environmental Quality undertook a two-year project to determine the extend of fuel and emissions savings that Oklahoma school district might expect by instituting a maximum five-minute school bus idling policy. This report offers the study's findings to public school districts in Oklahoma and elsewhere. Results indicate that for every five minutes of daily idling time reduced over the course of a school year, 7.5 gallons of fuel per bus can be saved for a collective savings of more than 58,000 gallons of diesel fuel saved annually.
Energy Use and Emissions Comparison of Idling Reduction Options for Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks
11/15/2008
Pollution and energy analyses of different idling reduction (IR) technologies have been limited to localized vehicle emissions and neglected upstream energy use and regional emissions. In light of increasing regulation and government incentives for IR, we analyzed the full-fuel-cycle effects of contemporary approaches. Our analysis incorporates direct impacts at the truck and upstream energy use and emissions estimates from the GREET model with published climate and vehicle operation data. We compared emissions, energy use, and proximity to urban populations for nine alternatives, including idling, electrified parking spaces, auxiliary power units, and several combinations of these.
Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool
11/1/2008
The Petroleum Reduction Planning Tool helps fleets, consumers, and business owners create a strategy to reudce conventional fuel use in fleet and personal vehicles. This interactive tool allows users to evaluate and calculate petroleum reductions by choosing one or a combination of methods.
Estimation of Fuel Use by Idling Commercial Trucks
1/22/2006
Extended idling by commercial trucks represents a significant use of our petroleum resources, and much of this oil use could be avoided by installing idle-reduction technologies, by adopting vehicle scheduling policies, or simply by turning the trucks off. Until now, attention has been focused on overnight idling by tractor-trailers with sleepers, which represent a very visible andobvious target for conservation and emission-reduction efforts. However, commercial trucks of all sizes idle for extended periods (0.5 hour or more) during their workdays, for a variety of reasons, such as while drivers wait to pick up or drop off a load or as a means of providing a warm haven for workers fixing utilities or roads in inclement weather. The quantity of petroleumused by such trucks may be far greater than that used by sleepers idling overnight. Although the length of time these vehicles idle is considerably shorter than the 6?10 hours that sleepers idle, the sheer number of vehicles more than makes up for it.
The sum of overnight and workday idling of trucks may consume well over 2 billion gallons of oil (mostly diesel) annually in the United States. To develop an accurate estimate of idling fuel use, data on vehicles and fleets in many industries would have to be collected. Cost-effective technologies exist for reducing overnight idling, but the fewer hours trucks idle per day while working will be somewhat of a barrier to their use in non-sleepers, because the payback period will be longer than the two years that the trucking industry requires.
Authors: Gaines, L.; Vyas, A.; Anderson, J.
The Harmful Effects of Vehicle Exhaust: A Case for Policy Change
1/1/2006
Most people assume that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is sufficiently protecting air quality by setting limits for chemicals released from vehicles, requiring newer engines to be less polluting, and restricting levels normally found in outdoor air. While the government monitors pollutants at fixed stations, these measurements bear little resemblance to the pollutiuon you and your family experience while moving through daily life. This report examines a variety of harmful effects from air pollution, including that caused by vehicle exhaust. The report focuses on Connecticut.
Authors: Wargo, J.; Wargo, L.; Alderman, N; Brown, D. R.