Japanese trucks case CO2 emissions by using off-board AC systems
Tokyo Electric Power Co and Hino Motors, Ltd have announced the results of a 14-month test of a jointly-developed cab heating and air-conditioning system, called Stop Idling, where parked trucks drew power form an external source instead of leaving the engine running. The result: CO2 emissions dropped about 97 percent and fuel costs by about 98 percent. It only makes sense that these numbers must be comparing the off-board system's pollution and cost to a truck's self-contained system, otherwise those numbers would be 100 percent, right?This news comes form the translated-news site Japan for Sustainability. The announcement came back in February, but JfS just posted the translation this week, and my Japanese is certainly not what it should be so I didn't spot it earlier. According to JfS, "the newly developed system cools or heats the driver's cabin without running the engine when the truck is parked. This feature contributes to cost reductions as well as reduced CO2 emissions. The Package cooler installed on the cabin roof cools the cabin, while an electric blanket and electric carpet are equipped in the cabin for heating."
Stop Idling should be commercially available in March 2008.
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[Source: Japan for Sustainability]
