Thermo King, a manufacturer of transport temperature control solutions and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, presented the Antelope Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) with the Energy Leader Award at the American Public Transit Association (APTA) Expo recently.
The award recognizes AVTA for its pioneering efforts in adopting an all-electric heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system, leading to a measurable impact in its bus fleet’s energy efficiency.
Thermo King annually recognizes organizations around the world that have shown significant achievements in efficiency and sustainability with the Energy Efficiency Leader Award. Presented to leaders that have achieved environmental successes, the award recognizes those within the temperature-controlled transportation, quality indoor environment, and production industries.
AVTA partnered with Thermo King to pilot a first-generation all-electric HVAC system in a standard diesel driven bus, originally designed for a conventional HVAC system. A second-generation, fuel-efficient system was later developed based on learnings from AVTA’s field tests, eventually leading to integration of all-electric HVAC systems into ATVA’s fleet.
The alternator powered all-electric HVAC unit supplies high voltage power to electric HAVC units using alternators driven by standard diesel bus engines. These all-electric HVAC units save fuel by eliminating the effect of variable engine RPM on load and demand. They also use R407c, an energy-efficient refrigerant.
