Idle reduction describes technologies and practices that minimize the amount of time drivers idle their engines. Avoiding idling time has a multitude of benefits including: savings in fuel and maintenance costs, extending vehicle life, and reducing damaging emissions. An idling engine consumes only enough power to keep itself and its accessories running, therefore, producing no usable power to the drive train. For cargo ships, the need to run the ship's engines for power in port is eliminated by techniques collectively described as cold ironing. Idle reduction equipment is aimed at reducing the amount of energy wasted by idling trucks, rail locomotives or automobiles. When a vehicle's engine is not being used to move the vehicle, it can be shut off entirely — thereby conserving fuel and reducing emissions— while other functions like accessories and lighting are powered by an electrical source other than the vehicle's alternator. Each year, long-duration idling of truck and locomotive engines emits 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, 200,000 tons of oxides of nitrogen, and 5,000 tons of particulate matter into the air. There are other technologies that can reduce the use of fuel to heat or cool the cab when the vehicle is traditionally idling overnight. These can be battery or fuel powered but in either case, use less fuel, do no harm to the vehicle's engine, and reduce or eliminate emissions. Other vehicles, including police, military, service trucks, news vans, fire trucks, ambulances, and hydraulic bucket trucks can be equipped with mobile power idle reduction systems, similar to a rechargeable battery. The systems are usually installed in the trunk and can provide up to 10 hours of additional power for equipment operation without engine engagement. When used by law enforcement and the military, idle reduction technology increases mission capability by extending operational time and providing increased situational awareness and safety. Idle reduction is a rapidly growing trend in US federal, state, local and fleet policy. Idling contributes significantly to the transportation sector's portion of yearly greenhouse gas emissions. The US Department of Energy is putting forth a huge effort through the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program to increase public awareness about decreasing petroleum use; idle-reduction being one of the methods. The Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center is a reliable resource for information regarding idle-reduction methods such as fuel-operated heaters, auxiliary power units and truck stop electrification.
Background and problem In the public sector, idling is common. Police officers, public works employees, fire fighters, and EMTs who operate city fleet vehicles run them at idle to perform their duties which require them to operate equipment. The emissions generated from these tasks by cities all over the U.S. contribute to the fact that each year U.S. passenger cars, light trucks, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty vehicles consume more than 6 billion gallons of diesel fuel and gasoline — without even moving. As fuel prices continue to rise, a major challenge in fleet management is how to keep service vehicles on the road to serve the public while staying within budget. Reducing idle time also reduces emission of carbon dioxide, one of the prime factors in causing global warming. By some estimates, an automobile with a 3-liter engine burns 1.5 L (0.4 US gal; 0.33 imp gal) of gasoline per hour of idling, and generates about 0.5 kg (1 lb) of CO2 every 10 minutes. Idle reduction is particularly significant for vehicles in heavy traffic and trucks at the estimated 5,000 truck stops in the US. Many hybrid electric vehicles employ idle reduction to achieve better fuel economy in traffic. America's fleet of around 500,000 long-haul trucks consumes over a 3.8 billion L (1 billion US gal; 0.83 billion imp gal) of diesel fuel per year. The trucking industry has analyzed the impact of idling on engines, both in terms of maintenance and engine wear costs. Long-duration idling causes more oil and oil filter deterioration and increases the need for more oil and filter changes. Similarly, the longer the idling time, the sooner the engine itself will need to be rebuilt. The trucking industry estimates that long duration idling costs the truck owner $1.13 per day, based on the need for more frequent oil changes and sooner overhaul costs. Services such as AireDock, IdleAire and Shorepower provide power at truck stops to resting truckers who would otherwise need to continue idling during mandatory breaks. Because the United States Department of Transportation mandates that truckers rest for 10 hours after driving for 11 hours, truckers might park at truck stops for several hours. Often they idle their engines during this rest time to provide their sleeper compartments with air conditioning or heating or to run electrical appliances such as refrigerators or televisions. The problem of anti-idling is most commonly associated with heavy duty diesel engines because they are the biggest contributors when idling. As an example of the need for idling an engine, school bus drivers on a cold morning may go out to their bus and turn it on to warm up the engine in order to provide direct heat to the cabin when they return to their bus to start their morning routes, which brings up two of the main reasons for idling, driver mentality and the need for passenger comfort. This idling period can be considered excessive, though excessive idling is defined and regulated differently in different parts of the country.
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