Little steps toward energy efficiency

Oct. 7 is the fifth annual Energy Efficiency Day. Sponsored by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the day is set aside “to recognize and celebrate the multiple benefits of energy efficiency,” according to ACEEE. In a news release the association said, “Energy Efficiency Day puts a spotlight on saving money, cutting pollution, reducing energy waste, and creating jobs. This year, it comes at a time when the economy needs it the most.”

ACEEE focused on some small things all of us can do to reduce energy consumption in our personal lives, including switching light bulbs to LEDs, replacing HVAC filters, and sealing gaps around windows and doors. 

That got me thinking that although there are some big things we can do in trucking to be more efficient, there also are a host of little things we can do.

Let’s start with the no-cost option of engine parameters. Fuel economy improvements in the 5-8% range are possible for fleets when they optimize all parameters for fuel economy. Improvements of 3-5% above the defaults may be available to fleets who simply set the parameters of their new trucks in a few key areas such as vehicle speed and idle reduction. When was the last time you reviewed your engine parameter settings?

If you have not done so already, consider switching to low-viscosity engine lubricants. You can expect a 0.5% to 1.5% fuel savings when switching from 15W-40 to 5W/10W-30, and a 0.4% to 0.7% savings when switching to FA-4 oils from CJ-4/CK-4 5/10W-30 oils.

Tell drivers to slow down. Lowering the truck’s speed will lead to significant fuel savings due to decreased aerodynamic drag and tire rolling resistance. Also try to optimize routes and limit empty miles. As the cliché goes, nothing is more expensive than hauling air.

Invest in aerodynamics for both tractors and trailers. There is a wide variety of options you can spec to make both the tractor and trailer more aerodynamic. Items like tractor-trailer gap devices, chassis fairings, drive wheel fairings, wheel covers, trailer rear devices, etc., allow fleets to further improve fuel efficiency over base model trucks.

Focus on reducing time spent in idle. Set idle shut down timers and invest in any of a number of idle reduction technologies in order to get idle time as low as possible while still addressing driver comfort and the need for hotel loads.

This is just a sampling of some of the little things you can do to help your fleet be more energy efficient and these things will have a long-lasting impact far beyond ACEEE’s Energy Efficiency Day.        

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Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. He currently serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.