Carriers installing solar panels to reduce costs, extend battery life

The bigger draws on a truck’s battery system come from the use of the in-cab heating and cooling system as well as the use of small appliances and electronics like refrigerators, microwaves and televisions. However, there is always some draw on batteries as advanced telematics, smart sensors and cameras on newer trucks are continuously working.

“The very, very many modules that are on trucks now are always drawing at a parasitic level,” said Wilkie.

Trucks without the panels usually auto start twice a night for two hours at a time to refresh an EPU’s battery system. Wilkie said GP Transco has been able to cut that four-hour engine time down to one hour, and sometimes less.

He said the technology will save the company roughly $1,700 per tractor per year. The math assumes an average diesel price of $4 per gallon and annual mileage of 110,000 miles per truck. That’s approximately the cost to install one unit when buying them in bulk.

The math doesn’t include the benefit from longer battery life as parasitic drain is eliminated. Jump-starts of dead batteries, which can be very costly in remote locations, are also removed.

Further, a reduction in “ghost mileage,” or the hours when the engine is running but the wheels aren’t turning, extends the life of the engine and the alternator. The solar units also qualify for mileage and carbon emissions credits in some states, Venkatesan Murali, founder and chief technology officer at panel-maker MerlinSolar, told FreightWaves.

Murali said the return on investment on the devices is less than a year, which is significant in an industry that works on “tight margins.”

Source: freightwaves.com