United States Air and Radiation EPA420-F-03-020
Environmental Protection June 2003
Agency
Office of Transportation and Air Quality
&EPA Technical
Bulletin
Truck stop electrification is one technology available to trucking fleets
and truck stop operators to reduce fuel use and eliminate the
emissions associated with long duration engine idling at truck stops.
Background
Truck stops are an integral part of America's over-the-road transport
system. According to a recent study by the Department of Transporta-
tion (DOT) [www.dot.gov/affairs/fhwa2802.htm], the United States has
approximately 5,000 truck stops with an estimated 320,000 truck parking
spaces. Different truck stops offer different services. Almost all have
fueling stations. Some have restaurants, showers, stores, laundry facili-
ties, and other amenities. Some merely have restrooms and a parking lot.
Truck drivers use these locations generally to re-fuel and/or rest. The
time spent at a truck stop varies with the needs of the truck driver and the
services offered. The DOT mandates that for every 10 hours driving, a
truck driver must rest for 8 hours. During this rest period, truck drivers
will often idle their engines to provide their sleeper compartment with air
conditioning, heat, and electrical power to run appliances such as a
refrigerator, microwave oven, and television. They may also idle their
engines to keep their engines and fuel warm in cold weather.
Use of these components substantially increases the fuel consumption and
air emissions from the truck. As documented in EPAs long-duration
truck idling test program [www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/documents/
r02025.pdf], use of the air conditioning or heat requires higher engine
speeds, thereby increasing fuel consumption above 1 gallon per hour.
> Printed on Recycled Paper
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Benefits
Use of truck stop electrification can reduce emissions by 90 percent and
save 100 percent of the diesel fuel for the time spent idling. This technol-
ogy can reduce 24 tons of carbon dioxide and .34 tons of nitrogen oxides
per truck annually. Fuel savings per year will amount to $3,240 per truck
parking space.
Alternatives
Truck stop electrification (TSE) refers to a technology that harnesses an
electrical system to provide the truck driver with their needs, eliminating
the need to run their engines. It can be a stand-alone system or it can
include a combined on-board and off-board system.
• Stand-alone TSE refers to an independent system that supplies the
truck driver's needs without modifying the truck. A structure is built
above truck parking spaces and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning) systems are suspended on this structure above each
parking space. A hose comes down from the HVAC and attaches to
the truck window or portal near the sleeper compartment. On the
face of the hose's opening is a computer touch-screen for conducting
financial transactions as well as outlets to plug in appliances, tele-
phones and computers. The system is owned by a private company
which operates and services the system. The company charges an
hourly fee and the truck driver is required to purchase a window
template to accommodate the hose. Refer to EPA's list of idle
reduction technologies for manufacturers of on-board truck stop
electrification [www. epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/idlingtech.htm].
• For the truck driver, on-board TSE (also known as "shore-power")
requires that the truck come equipped with three essential compo-
nents: (1) an inverter to convert 120 volts to operate on-board
appliances (and a charger to re-charge the truck's battery if an
electrical outlet is not available), (2) an electrical HVAC system to
provide heat and air which is powered by the electricity; and (3)
hardware to plug-into the electrical outlet.
• For the truck stop operator, on-board TSE requires an electrical
outlet for the truck to plug into. The truck stop operator would
regulate its use and charge. A few truck stops currently provide
outlets for truck drivers to use. If no electrical outlet is available,
the truck could use battery power to operate the electrical HVAC.
Refer to EPA's list of idle reduction technologies for manufacturers
of on-board TSE.
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Challenge
The greatest difficulty with truck stop electrification is availability. Truck
manufacturers are reluctant to include on-board systems because of the
lack of available electrical outlets, and truck stop operators are equally
reluctant to introduce shore power truck stop electrification because of
the lack of trucks equipped with on-board systems. While stand alone
truck stop electrification does not require on-board components, truck
stop operators fear the lack of a customer base, so few stand alone truck
stop electrification systems are currently available.
EPA's Course of Action
EPA's goal is to bring together the industry members (truck manufactur-
ers, truck stop operators, trucking fleets, and truck stop electrification
manufacturers) as part of the National Transportation Idle-Free Corridors
project. This project will assist industry and states in working together to
solve the issues about truck stop electrification availability. To start, EPA
plans to host meetings and workshops to bring the industry and govern-
ment partners together to identify and resolve issues. In the future, EPA
anticipates issuing a state grant program to assist in the deployment of
truck stop electrification, and an industry contract to assist private fleets
with the purchase of on-board idle reduction technologies.
For More Information
You can access documents on idling reduction electronically on the
Office of Transportation and Air Quality Web site at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit/idling.htm
You can also contact the OTAQ library for document information at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2000 Traverwood Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734)214-4311
E-mail: GroupAALibrary@epa.gov
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