Application of Sleeper Cab Thermal Management Technologies to Reduce Idle Climate Control Loads in Long-Haul Trucks
Each intercity long-haul truck in the U.S. idles approximately 1,800 hrs per year, primarily for sleeper cab hotel loads. Including workday idling, over 2 billion gallons of fuel are used annually for truck idling. NREL's CoolCab project works closely with industry to design efficient thermal management systems for long-haul trucks that keep the cab comfortable with minimized engine idling andfuel use. The impact of thermal load reduction technologies on idle reduction systems were characterized by conducting thermal soak tests, overall heat transfer tests, and 10-hour rest period A/C tests. Technologies evaluated include advanced insulation packages, a solar reflective film applied to the vehicle's opaque exterior surfaces, a truck featuring both film and insulation, and abattery-powered A/C system. Opportunities were identified to reduce heating and cooling loads for long-haul truck idling by 36% and 34%, respectively, which yielded a 23% reduction in battery pack capacity of the idle-reduction system. Data were also collected for development and validation of a CoolCalc HVAC truck cab model. CoolCalc is an easy-to-use, simplified, physics-based HVAC loadestimation tool that requires no meshing, has flexible geometry, excludes unnecessary detail, and is less time-intensive than more detailed computer-aided engineering modeling approaches.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (EE-3V)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1055379
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5400-55838
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the SAE 2012 Commercial Vehicle Engineering Congress, 2-3 October 2012, Rosemont, Illinois; Related Information: Posted with permission
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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