Fleet-to-Fleet: AFVi Asks Fleet Managers About Fuel Saving Strategies
AFVi asked fleet managers to tell us one fuel saving strategy they have implemented in the last twelve months. From changes in which vehicles are purchased to driver training programs to powertrain control modules, the diversity of responses proves there are many ways to save fuel. Here is a sample of their answers.
“Driving slower than the speed limit has saved me more than three miles to the gallon.”
“We have been running a report to track premium fuel purchases and gently reminding drivers to stick to unleaded.”
“We’re sure to order the most fuel efficient models our budget will allow. We carefully look at the life-cycle cost analysis for each model we’re considering.”
“[We use] speed limiters – heavy-duty commercial vehicles set to 50 mph and light-duty commercial vehicles set to 62 mph.”
“We use telematics and proper vehicle selection, as well as cycling vehicles to take advantage of new and improved technologies.”
“After driver training, we have run a project on rewards and recognition to boost fuel savings.”
“[We are] putting 4 cyl. vehicles in the fleet wherever we can.”
“I have seen documented proof of a fleet increasing their class 8 mpg by 8% and automobiles increasing their mpg by 10-20% using a product designed to reduce friction in engines and transmissions.”
“We have reprogrammed our powertrain control modules and set maximum speed limits on trucks resulting in an average of 10% gain or 1-1.5 mpg difference.”
“We have replaced most vehicles with 4 cyl. like vehicles where possible. At the same time, I have a few 6 cyl. of the same vehicles in some areas. I will do a cost comparison including total cents per mile to determine if the 4 cyl. results in a true cost savings.”
“This may seem very basic, but checking and adjusting tire pressure to meet specs has a big impact on mpg. Check tire pressure especially at the change of seasons. That is the time of year when tire pressure will change the most. Most of our vehicles are equipped with tire pressure monitoring "reminders" that light up in front of you if the tire pressure is off. For those vehicles that do not have this option (some of the older ones), I request that tire pressure is checked at least every other week.”
“Our company has a very diverse fleet, requiring a diverse strategy for each class of vehicle we operate. For instance we purchased hybrid passenger vehicles when replacing traditional passenger vehicles. In an effort to reduce fuel consumption we have reduced the number of take home vehicles along with imposing travel restrictions (more internet meetings) and created driver education campaign for idle reduction, tire pressure checks etc. I performed an experiment on our Class 8 road tractors switching to Michelin X One tires (Truck and Trailer) gaining 2 mpg in the change out. We are in the process of starting a certified driver training program. I participated in the program and am seeing 2 to 4 mpg savings in my own personal vehicle.”
“Being in earth moving / construction, there is not much we can do about the type of vehicles we operate. We have been educating our drivers on the benefits of idle reduction, preventative maintenance, reducing weight carried and speed reduction.”
“Our business has deployed a driver behavior training program and that is contributing to the fuel reduction. We also have deployed a field force and fleet management system and that has had a major impact on cost and productivity improvement.”
“We installed GPS units in all of our trucks and programmed the technicians’ routes each day. I don't have the exact figures, but the savings were substantial.”
“A number of my clients found the Canadian Government's ecoENERGY for Fleets quite helpful. In the United State's, check out the EPA's SmartWay Transportation program.”
GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator From Clean Cities NOW, Vol. 4, No. 1, March 2010
Developed by Argonne National Laboratory, the GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator helps Clean Cities stakeholders evaluate a fleet’s petroleum use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This information can help fleets work with state and regional air-quality officials to develop emission-reduction strategies.
The calculator is based on Argonne’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model, which generates life-cycle energy data about petroleum use and GHG emissions of key fuel production pathways and combustion fuels. The GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator lets fleet managers input data to project and evaluate well-to-wheel petroleum use and GHG emissions of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The easy-to-use, Excel-based calculator uses hypothetical or actual data to analyze on- and off-road vehicles, including conventional (gasoline and diesel) and diesel hybrid electric vehicles, as well as vehicles using biodiesel (B20 and B100), ethanol, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, landfill gas, propane, electricity, and gaseous and liquid hydrogen.
To get started, click here to access the GREET Fleet Footprint Calculator.
NGVi Makes Recommendations for the City of Delano, California’s Oil Carryover Issue
The City of Delano, California owns and operates a CNG fueling station with time-fill and fast-fill fueling capability. The City uses its CNG station to fuel its fleet of CNG powered refuse trucks, buses and light-duty vehicles. It fuels its refuse trucks and buses at the time-fill system during the over night hours. Additionally, the City offers CNG fueling service to other fleet and private vehicle owners from its fast-fill dispensing system during the day.
Both the City fleet and other vehicle owners began to experience poor vehicle performance after fueling their vehicles at the City owned CNG fueling station. After oil was found in the on-board fuel system in some of the City’s fleet vehicles, the problem was identified as oil carryover. In one case, the oil carryover required a relatively new bus to be repaired at a cost in excess of $2,000.
NGVi was contracted with the City of Delano to conduct an evaluation of the operation and maintenance practices currently implemented at the CNG fueling station to identify the cause of the oil carryover and provide recommendations to eliminate oil carryover and improve the operation and reliability of the CNG fueling station.
Oil carryover is a common problem in CNG fueling stations. Natural gas used for vehicular application and delivered from a CNG fueling station must be free of any solid material, water or oil. Natural gas vehicles can experience poor vehicle performance when the fuel delivered from the fueling station contains solid or liquid contaminates. Poor vehicle performance can include hard engine starting, rough engine idling, hesitation during vehicle acceleration or engine stalling while idling when stopped at an intersection. These are usually tell-tale signs of oil carryover. Learn more about oil carryover in NGVi’s Technical Paper: Oil Carryover Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Prevention.
In March 2010 Leo Thomason, Executive Director of NGVi, and Jim Robinson of Robinson Solutions conducted a site visit to the City of Delano’s CNG fueling station. Based on observations made during the site visit and discussions with key City of Delano maintenance staff, it was determined that oil was being carried over in the natural gas stream from the compressor to the coalescing filters, then to the dispenser housing and finally into the vehicles being fueled.
NGVi and Robinson Solutions made three key recommendations for the City of Delano to eliminate oil carryover to both the time- and fast-fill dispensing systems. Additionally, these recommendations addressed measures to improve fuel system operation and reliability. They include:
Replace and install specific equipment designed to remove any solid or liquid contamination in the high-pressure natural gas downstream of the compression system and before the compressed natural gas enters the time-fill or high-pressure storage system
Develop and implement comprehensive preventative maintenance practices
Implement training specific to the CNG fueling equipment operated by the City
Once the City of Delano implements the first recommendation, their oil carryover issue should cease and thereby eliminate the poor vehicle performance caused by oil carryover. However, second and third recommendations are crucial to keep the issue from returning. It is important that the equipment installed to facilitate the removal of oil be properly maintained. This will improve system reliability and ensure compliance with Cal OSHA Unfired Pressure Vessel Safety Orders. When the City of Delano maintenance technicians are properly trained in the current maintenance and operation practices specific for the equipment installed, they will be able to diagnose a potential equipment or system problem well in advance of equipment failure, thus ensuring the highest fuel system safety, operation and reliability.
Do you suspect you might have an oil carryover issue? NGVi can help. Contact us today!
Petroleum Reduction Made Easy: Idle Reduction By Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities
Modified from its original version by Falana White, AFVi
Core to each Clean Cities Coalition's mission is an effort to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States. The mission of Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities (GLACC) focuses on the mid-Michigan area. Our aim is to decrease petroleum dependence and improve air quality at a local level. We promote alternative fuel and vehicle usage and fuel economy practices.
A big benefit to reducing petroleum consumption is the opportunity to reduce air pollution that results from using petroleum fuels. Engine idle reduction is an easy method for reducing both petroleum consumption and air pollution.
This issue of Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities’ Clean Transportation Awareness Campaign will give you some food for thought on how critical idle-reduction is to the petroleum reduction and air quality picture. While some of the tenets are specific to Michigan, the lessons learned can be applied across the United States. In fact, they are being applied through your local Clean Cities Coalition. Click here to find your local Clean Cities Coalition.
Learn More What is engine idling? Engine idling is simply the act of running a vehicle's engine when the vehicle is not in motion, but parked in one place. Many of us are guilty of unnecessary engine idling, and may not have realized that reducing idle time saves fuel, engine wear, and money while reducing emissions and noise. Idle reduction is typically used to describe technologies and practices that reduce the amount of time vehicles idle their engines.
How bad is idling for air quality? Tail-pipe emissions account for 27% of total US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are large contributors in climate change and in ozone degradation. Transportation is a big component of our economy and way of life, but given the impact of transportation on air quality, it is crucial that we balance transportation needs with the need for healthy air. Idling is an area where a big impact can be made easily. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1/3 of all NOx emissions is attributed to mobile sources, while 5-10% of that is attributed to vehicle idling. Other pollutants, like particulate matter (PM) and carbon dioxide (CO2) can also be reduced by reducing idling.
How bad is idling for public health? Air plays a huge role in public health. Toxins in the air we breathe have a direct effect on respiratory diseases like asthma and lung cancer. The US EPA reports that, "Motor vehicles emit several pollutants that EPA classifies as known or probable human carcinogens." These pollutants include benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and diesel particulate matter or soot. Particulate matter is also an aggravator for asthma, and with over 215,000 children in Michigan suffering from asthma, it's important to reduce these emissions by reducing unnecessary idling.
Can reducing idling really make a big impact on petroleum reduction? Nearly 10% of commercial fuel use in the US is expended during idling, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Argonne National Lab (ANL) (Idling: Cruising the Inefficiency Highway) estimates that 2 billion gallons of fuel is wasted during idling each year in the US. Reducing unnecessary idling is an extremely cost-effective way to reduce petroleum consumption.
Is there ever a good reason to idle my vehicle's engine? The primary reason to idle is to use the vehicles engine to maintain temperature for passengers or freight or to power heating or cooling systems. Emergency vehicles may idle to power refrigerators for medications, K-9 unit police vehicles may idle to keep the vehicle warm or cool for the canine officer. It is also a good idea to warm a vehicle's engine in cold weather though most drivers idle much longer than necessary to meet this need. The best way to warm an engine is to drive the vehicle, idling doesn't allow the engine to reach peak temperature.
What's the bottom line - does engine idling really impact me? Individuals, fleet drivers, and fleet managers can all be positively impacted by idle reduction. Consider school bus drivers - a typical school bus burns approximately one-half gallon of diesel fuel for each hour it idles. So, for 50 buses, if each bus driver reduces idling time by 30 minutes per day, at $1.00 per gallon of diesel fuel, the district or bus company would save $2,250 per school year in fuel costs. Given that diesel fuel and gasoline both cost far more than $1.00 per gallon, reducing unnecessary idling leads to big savings for cash-strapped school districts. The same is true for any vehicle user. Passenger cars account for about 35% of GHG emissions from transportation sources, so even the every day driver has a role to play in reducing that impact.
Is mid-Michigan a part of the solution? Greater Lansing Area Clean Cities has been focused on idle-reduction since 2003 and is working with statewide, regional, and local groups to implement idle-reduction solutions. Many vehicle fleets have idle reduction policies. Local governments can be part of the solution, too. In southeast Michigan the City of Detroit recently passed an idle-reduction ordinance. GLACC is working with school districts in the capital region to help them implement idle reduction policies and/or "idle-free zones" which disallow idling in areas where students congregate.
Tips Idle Reduction is Easy!
Warmer weather is upon us - a perfect time to quit our idling habits.
1. Notice. How much do you idle? Whether you drive for a living, cart around kids or family, or only drive when you need to, it's important to be aware of how you use your vehicle. You can only reduce idling if you notice that you're doing it.
2. Connect the Dots. Do you know anyone with asthma or lung problems? Are you motivated by public or environmental health? Does your budget drive your actions? Connect the dots between your actions and the impacts they have - you can reduce pollutants that aggravate peoples’ asthma by not idling your vehicle’s engine. In addition to reducing environmental pollution, you can save on fuel costs by not wasting fuel when idling.
3. Act. Now that you've noticed when you're most likely to idle your engine, and you've connected the dots that reducing idling has benefits that matter to you, the next step is to turn off your engine and just stop idling. It's easy - and it makes sense whether you're motivated by your family's health, the environment, and/or finances.
Question of the Month: How does the recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemaking define renewable fuels? Which fuels has EPA determined qualify under the new categories of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)?
Answer: Last month’s TRS Question of the Month outlined several changes that resulted from the February 2010 rulemaking on the federal RFS program. One of the most significant changes mandated by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 was that the annual RFS volume standards are now broken down into four categories: renewable fuel, advanced biofuel, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic biofuel. EPA’s rulemaking followed EISA’s definitions of each of these fuel categories and set the first mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions thresholds for each category. In order to qualify for a certain category, fuel production pathways are subject to lifecycle analysis and compared to the lifecycle emissions for gasoline or diesel (whichever is being displaced by the renewable fuel) sold or distributed in 2005.
As part of the recent rulemaking process, EPA modeled lifecycle GHG emissions for certain fuel pathways and made determinations about fuels that meet each of the thresholds. The table below shows the specified thresholds for lifecycle GHG emissions reductions as well as the fuels that EPA has determined currently meet each of these thresholds.
Fuel Category
Lifecycle GHG Emissions Reduction Threshold
Qualifying Fuels Based on Current EPA Modeling
Renewable fuel*
20%
Ethanol produced from corn starch at a new natural gas, biomass, or biogas fired facility (or expanded capacity from such a facility)
Biobutanol from corn starch
Advanced biofuel
50%
Ethanol produced from sugarcane
Biomass-based diesel
50%
Biodiesel and renewable diesel produced from soy oil or waste oils, fats, and greases
Biodiesel and renewable diesel produced from algal oils
Cellulosic biofuel
60%
Cellulosic ethanol
Cellulosic diesel
* Applies to renewable fuel from new facilities that commenced construction after December 19, 2007.
EPA has indicated that other pathways are likely to be similar enough to the modeled pathways that they will also qualify; currently these include fuels produced from five categories of feedstocks, including:
Crop residues such as corn stover and wheat straw
Forest material including eligible forest thinnings and solid residue remaining from forest product production
Secondary annual crops planted on existing crop land such as winter cover crops
Separated food and yard waste including biogenic waste from food
Perennial grasses including switchgrass
In addition, EPA anticipates modeling fuel pathways for grain sorghum ethanol, woody pulp ethanol, and palm oil biodiesel and expects to make determinations on the associated lifecycle emissions reductions before the end of this year.
EPA is also establishing a process by which biofuel producers will be able to petition EPA to consider their product for eligibility. For more information on EPA’s lifecycle analysis, please reference the EPA Fact Sheet: EPA Lifecycle Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Renewable Fuel
Industry News
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In a mere few days, you will be surrounded by the who’s who in the alternative fuel and vehicle industry as they all converge in sunny Las Vegas at the Rio All-Suite Hotel on May 9-12 for the sixteenth annual Alternative Fuels & Vehicles National Conference + Expo 2010.
Here are some last minute tips:
Start planning your personal agenda. Click here for the online Conference Program.
Make the most of your attendance at AF&V 2010. AFVi offers both pre- and post-Conference training options to help attendees make the most of their time in Las Vegas.
If you are currently responsible for natural gas fueling projects or if your company is planning to include natural gas fueling infrastructure in the near future, don’t miss the session on Sunday – CNG Fueling Stations: A Project Manager’s Guide to Sizing, Design, Specifying, Permitting and Construction. Click here for more info.
For those of you who want to head home with an alternative fuel implementation plan well on the way to completion, don’t miss Wednesday afternoon’s session – Fleet Solutions: Putting It All Together.
Click here for more info.
Check out the vehicle line up for this year’s Vehicle Technology Parade and Ride-n-Drive! Click here to see the vehicle line-up.
AF&V 2010 is covering it ALL through Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Join the conversation today!
AFVi's own Leo Thomason is our resident natural gas expert. With over 20-years of experience, Leo has equipped more than 14,000 employees with the skills they need to safely implement, operate and maintain a NGV fleet. Two courses are currently open for registration, including:
NGV Driver and Mechanic Safety Training
May 25, 2010, Riverside, CA
CNG Fuel System Inspector Training
May 26-27, 2010, Riverside, CA
Click here for course descriptions and registration information.
AFVi asked fleet managers to tell us one fuel saving strategy they have implemented in the last twelve months. From changes in which vehicles are purchased to driver training programs to powertrain control modules, the diversity of responses proves there are many ways to save fuel. Here is a sample of their answers.
The City of Delano, California owns and operates a CNG fueling station with time-fill and fast-fill fueling capability. The City uses its CNG station to fuel its fleet of CNG powered refuse trucks, buses and light-duty vehicles. It fuels its refuse trucks and buses at the time-fill system during the over night hours. Additionally, the City offers CNG fueling service to other fleet and private vehicle owners from its fast-fill dispensing system during the day. 
Core to each Clean Cities Coalition's mission is an effort to reduce petroleum consumption in the United States. The mission of 
AFVi's own Leo Thomason is our resident natural gas expert. With over 20-years of experience, Leo has equipped more than 14,000 employees with the skills they need to safely implement, operate and maintain a NGV fleet. Two courses are currently open for registration, including:
