Carriers have faced a spread of industry and economic challenges over the past couple of years, forcing many fleets to operate on razor-thin margins. For these corporations, the unexpected maintenance costs and downtime accompanying dead truck batteries could possibly be enough to jeopardize their profitability.
The Threat of Parasitic Drain
To safeguard their corporations against this risk, fleet leaders should pay attention to the parasitic draw or the energy that drains from a truck battery when not in use. This is commonly the perpetrator behind dead truck batteries, especially in the course of the colder months or after long periods of idling.
Many carriers accept the ramifications of this slow drain — including dead batteries — as a hazard of doing business, nevertheless it doesn’t must be that way. Fleets can access options to mitigate this issue.
“While at first blush, these small amounts of energy won’t pose a major threat to vehicle readiness, over a protracted enough time, they will prove disastrous for fleet efficiency and dear to your bottom line,” in line with a recent PowerFilm Solar blog by Julia Stone.
Mitigating Risks with Solar Panels
In an economic environment where efficiency and cost-savings are top of mind, this seemingly slow-growing threat warrants motion from carriers sooner moderately than later. Nonetheless, pinpointing and solving every source of parasitic drain is difficult. As an alternative, fleets should deal with mitigating risks by increasing available energy sources.
“Often, the perpetrator could possibly be a worn wire that is sort of unimaginable to isolate amongst the handfuls of other cables in your truck’s system,” Stone wrote. “To mitigate this parasitic draw, the only and least stressful solution is to pair that draw with the suitable solar panel to cancel it out.”
Solar Panels Increase Fuel Efficiency
Along with reducing the chance of dead batteries, solar panels help carriers increase fuel efficiency, further safeguarding themselves against ongoing economic headwinds.
In 2019, a nationwide rail refrigeration fleet — which utilized Carrier Vector hybrid reefers — conducted a one million-gallon study to guage the impact of reefer solar panels on overall fuel usage, in line with a PowerFilm Solar blog post by Kelly Junge.
Throughout the study, a differential fuel meter was mounted on each truck’s fuel lines, and data was monitored via telematics. Loads were kept at either zero degrees or minus 5 degrees. The study lasted a whole 12 months, ensuring data was collected from warm and cold months.
“The outcome of the study was a 0.09 gallon/hour diesel savings with the addition of a 20-30W solar panel,” Junge said. “As well as, it was found that the diesel savings were more significant within the colder months (starting a chilly diesel engine to charge a low-voltage battery could be inefficient).”
Ultimately, for each 24 hours a reefer truck runs a solar panel, the carrier stands to avoid wasting over two gallons of diesel, in line with Junge. That statistic suggests that reefer solar panels could pay for themselves inside a number of months.
Solar Panels Expand The Technology Fleets Can Use
When trucks have an extra energy source, like solar panels, additionally it is easier to have interaction other tools and devices to extend productivity and efficiency, further compounding the positive effects.
“Telematics is usually a significant parasitic load in your reefer battery, especially for idle trailers that periodically sit over weekends,” Junge noted in a recent blog post. “It won’t be an issue of in case your reefer battery can be dead; it would be an issue of when. A small 24W solar panel counteracts telematics loads and keeps the reefer battery healthy.”
All said the advantages of adding solar panels far outweigh the money and time related to acquiring and installing the panels.
“Considering that a refrigeration technician can run $90/hour and losing a load can cost hundreds of dollars, an affordable solar panel provides an impressive return on investment to your fleet. The time and price for a jump-start service call is simply too high to not have a solar panel in your truck, trailer, or reefer.”
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