January 2008, Work Truck - Feature
How to Maximize Fuel Efficiency
By Joe Bohn
Regional Fleets Join In
Regional and localized fleet operators are also joining the hybrid initiative. Florida Power & Light (FPL) in Riviera Beach, Fla., is buying "as many hybrid vehicles as we can get our hands on in the product lines we need," said Claude Masters, CAFM, manager, acquisition and fuel.
That includes smaller hybrids, such as Ford Escapes and Toyota Highlanders, as well as the eight hybrid "bucket" trucks in its fleet, five of which were acquired in 2007. The utility is in the process of ordering six to nine more large hybrids and negotiating additional purchases. The trucks are International models, using Eaton’s HES.
International’s regular hybrid drive truck chassis is a Class 6 that can accommodate any type of truck body. It is currently in the process of migrating up to a Class 7 hybrid.
Its hybrid van/service body application vehicle is built as part of the Workhorse series.
Masters said his fleet has been realizing a 45-60-percent fuel savings with the new hybrids. Hybrids such as the International models can cost $40,000-$45,000 extra.
However, FPL keeps its trucks for about 11 years on average. When it determined the initial business case for the extra cost, "the payback estimated would take about seven years," said Masters. "Now, with fuel prices having gone up, we estimate payback in five to six years."
The utility’s original business case study for the hybrids was simply based on potential fuel savings and on projected maintenance savings. "We got a tax credit on the purchase of the trucks, and that was a bonus," Masters said.
The trucks also run on B-20 biodiesel, providing a 90-percent reduction in emissions.
Florida Power & Light got a big break on its first three medium-duty hybrids. Their extra cost was funded by the Department of Defense (CalStart/WestStart administered the funding) so they didn’t cost more than conventional diesel equivalents.
Altogether, its fleet operates about 3,400 vehicles of all sizes and types.
Although the economics to justify hybrids are clearly evident, the up-front cost differential between conventional and hybrid trucks still poses the greatest challenge to hybrid growth.
The key to producing hybrids in volume is to make them affordable. Suppliers say once orders for new trucks allow them to achieve full manufacturing efficiency, the cost will drop significantly.
Meanwhile, as Environmental Defense’s Mills points out, various federal, state, and local financial incentive programs help offset up-front costs and support alt-fuel investment from a lifecycle cost savings standpoint.
A new Web site outlines these incentives: www.environmentaldefense.org/hybridincentives. There’s also a link from that site to a list of available hybrid models.
Additional federal government information is also available from www.eere.energy.gov/afdc.
Reduce Idle Time
Many county and municipal fleets, such as the County of Douglas, in Roseburg, Ore., are grappling with budgeting/funding constraints that limit their ability to buy new, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
"We did buy four hybrid vehicles, mainly for the pool and health department, and as things loosen up (financially) and we can buy them, we’ll give careful consideration to fuel economy in our bids," says Michael J. Blanck, director of fleet services.
Meanwhile, he’s directed major efforts at getting drivers to reduce unnecessary idling and also buy fuel at the most optimum price.
"Idle time is a biggie," says Blanck. He addressed the issue of unnecessary idling, spelling out what it meant and its importance to all county departments.
"We stressed the importance of operators shutting down their vehicles whenever they stop somewhere for any period of time," he adds.
The importance of such efforts is borne out by estimates, such as that of International Truck & Engine, that a typical operator burns a half-gallon of fuel every hour a truck idles, in the process, adding about 40 miles of engine wear-and-tear.
Therefore, reducing an average hour of idling time a day can provide significant savings across an entire fleet.
Blanck has also emphasized departments taking greater advantage of the county’s five fueling stations as a means of cutting fuel costs.
"There are several ways to buy fuel, and your personal card or cash is the worst," says Blanck, noting that the county-operated fueling stations are not required to pay tax on diesel fuel and only state tax on unleaded gasoline.
Similarly, City of Waco, Texas, fleet officials have been working with various departments to reduce unnecessary vehicle usage and looking at vehicles that can do more work more efficiently.
"It’s a training thing — all the departments making sure they do a better job of scheduling, and making sure drivers don’t let the vehicle sit and idle unnecessarily when it isn’t being used," says Donald Littleton, operations administrator.
He notes that the city’s refuse trucks, for example, cross paths throughout the day and have been seeking to reschedule their trucks to avoid unnecessary trips.
"They (various operations) are devising new routes so they have better vehicle usage and are looking at a global positioning satellite (GPS) system so they can keep up with them," Littleton adds.
Like other municipalities, the city is also looking at new trucks that can handle more than one task as a way of reducing its fleet size. These include split-body design refuse vehicles, which can pick up and store refuse on one side and recyclable materials on the other — jobs that currently require separate vehicles. WT