17Feb
How Harmful Is Idling?
There are now 29 states with active idling law regulations in place. These laws are in
place for good reason, as idling for 10 seconds uses more fuel and produces more CO2 than
restarting your engine does! Over time and with an excessive number of vehicles on the road,
these emissions can wreak havoc on the environment. Running vehicles emit significant CO2
which is a colorless and odorless gas. What happens to the environment when more and more
CO2 is emitted is that heat becomes trapped. This is called the enhanced greenhouse effect.
Over time this can dramatically alter the earth’s climate.
Vehicles also produce volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and oxides of
nitrogen. All of these gases are toxic and when produced in abundance are extremely harmful
to the environment. Something to consider when running a fleet of vehicles that may be idling
is the health of the drivers. The drivers have direct exposure to all of these harmful chemical
day after day while on the job. This can cause long-term health problems and increase costs for
your business, not to mention you want to protect your drivers at all cost.
Luckily, APU Center has an abundance of solutions that will not only save the health of
your drivers, but it will help save your bottom line as well. If you need assistance on selecting
the right APU for your fleet of vehicles we are happy to help. We have cost-saving solution tools
that will help you realize your total cost savings by making the switch. The best benefit to APU
usage is the health of the environment and the health of your drivers. It can be an initial
investment to your company upfront but will save you significantly long-term and the payback
happens quickly.
Many states are offering grants, loans, and even tax credits for adopting idle
reduction technologies like APUs. We are happy to help make sure that you find the
appropriate APU for your vehicle and can help maintain and manage all APUs for
your entire fleet if necessary. We look forward to helping you save money and
reduce idling emissions into the environment.
engine.
APU’s require no fuel consumption, no idling, and give off zero noise. There is
also the added environment benefit of no related engine emissions due to idling. The
maintenance required on an APU is very minimal particularly when compared to the
maintenance required on an engine. There are no oil changes or expensive
replacements. The biggest maintenance that you will want to be aware of is that the
battery will need to be changed out roughly every 24-36 months depending on
usage. When referring to a vehicle it is quite common to refer to everything in
mileage. However, when referring to usage of an APU it is referred to in terms of
hours of usage. For example, every 2,000 hours you will want to change the fluids,
hoses, clamps and valves. This can cost around $800. This is still significantly less
than any engine maintenance.
If we can help you determine a fair Thermo King APU price or maintain your
existing APU we would be happy to help. Our team of trained professionals are here
to help advise you on the right decision for your fleet. We also encourage you to visit
our cost savings calculator to determine your long-term benefits.
tasks. This is where the APU Center is here to help. 
ou may have. 
