Study Finds Anti-Idling Equipment Can Cut Idle Time Up to 78%

A new study by the American Transportation Research Institute found that anti-idling equipment can trim idling time by as much as 78%.

The study, which was sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, found that by using technologies ranging from auxiliary power units to battery-powered air conditioning units, idling was cut by 42% to 78%.

Trucks involved in the study idled their engines 5% to 22% of the time. Mike Tunnell, spokesman for the research group, said that before installing the technology, the involved fleets had idled their trucks 23% to 41% of the time.

The reductions in idling cut carbon emissions from the trucks involved by an estimated 1,265 tons and eliminated 27 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and 1,200 pounds of particulate matter.

But the study also found that payback periods for the various technologies ranged from 16 months to 45 months, which was longer than the fleets involved in the study had anticipated.