Motor carriers everywhere all deal with a similar problem: How to prevent truck drivers from breaking down or missing delivery times because of a failed battery, whether it be in the truck or the liftgate. The trucking industry is a fast-paced environment where businesses across the country must count on products and services motor carriers offer. The problem lies in the delivery routes themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Delivery routes with multiple stops may not provide enough\nbattery charge time. What happens then? Trucks may not start, and lift gates\nmay not work. Usually within a fleet manager\u2019s budget is money set aside for\nexpensive service calls due to broken or poorly functioning lift gates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past, lift gate batteries have been charged by a\ntractor\u2019s alternator. This meant you could not charge them from a dead stop.\nThe truck had to be running \u2013 burning gas \u2013 in order to charge the lift gate\nbatteries. The problem is many states have enacted strict anti-idling laws and\nstatutes. While this is great for the environment, it has robbed truck drivers\nof a critical charging source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even worse, many truck drivers need to let their trucks idle\nfor quite some time to fully charge the battery. This is largely because the\nvoltage loss from long DC wires running to the lift gate batteries from the\nalternator. Simply put, too much power is lost along the way. That means much\nmore fuel needs to be burned to get adequate charge into the battery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trucking companies are at a disadvantage from the start because battery problems often do not expose themselves until it is too late. The next thing you know, an expensive service call \u2013 or worse \u2013 is just around the corner. And the problem is not just relegated to old, worn out batteries. Even new batteries that replace low voltage batteries are susceptible to not receiving enough charge and suffering from low performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
One solution motor carriers are looking at is solar power.\nSolar power is cost effective, easy to install, and most of all \u2013 free. You can\nalso charge at a higher voltage when repowering on solar power. This is because\nthe energy travels a shorter distance from the power source to the battery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To ensure you reduce battery degradation, you must keep your\nbattery at a voltage of between 12.7 and 14.4 volts. While you can hold a\nminimum voltage of 12.2, that is considered the red zone. Batteries held in\nthis range will have a reduced life expectancy. The good news is, with solar\npower, a fraction of a percent of the battery ever dips into the 12.2-volt\nrange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Without solar charging, a battery will typically spend 20\npercent of its lifespan in a state of decay, or 12.2 volts. Adding solar drops\nthat to 4 percent. Not only does this reduce the fuel required to idle-charge a\nbattery, it also offsets future maintenance costs. Some benefits to running\nbattery charging efforts off solar include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a lift gate failure due to power problems, you\ncan expect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news? Trucking companies who use solar power to charge their batteries rarely fail or have power problems. Idling costs drop to zero, and best of all, battery replacement life extends to 3 to 5 years. You can even expect to get a minimum of 25 cycles a day regardless of how much time you drive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lift gate batteries are well-known for dying prematurely.\nDead batteries also mean the fleet will suffer hard expenses, which sucks from\nthe bottom line. What is a hard cost? Hard expenses can be broken down as\nthings like service calls, loading\/reloading, missed deliveries, spoilage, or\nequipment replacement. Soft expenses, on the other hand, are things like\nunusable bays, late shipments, or other things that lead to a bad customer\nexperience and bruised reputation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a best-case scenario, a 300-watt solar panel could\nproduce the energy equivalent of an additional battery. So, you would get\naround 2 hours of power before the engine would need to be brought into the\npicture to recharge the batteries. Trucking companies could save 30 to 50\npercent on jump start service calls over the course of a year by using solar\npower. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Solar is a great option for truck HVAC systems. Your truck\ndrivers will be happy and motivated when you ensure the cab equipment, they\nneed stays running properly. Solar panels can extend the runtime of systems you\nor your truck drivers rely on. Solar charged throughout the day will keep cab\nsystems running into the night without draining the truck\u2019s batteries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For every day living in a properly outfitted cab, solar\npanels can keep things such as refrigerators, televisions, coffee pots, gaming\nsystems, microwaves, charging ports, and a lot of other electronics running.\nThese are common items that many truck drivers find necessary to stay\ncomfortable while out on the road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The combined load of devices connected to the solar panel\nmight normally only be sustained for eight to ten hours a day with a truck\u2019s\nstandard battery. At that point the battery would be reaching critically low\nvoltage, which, as we mentioned, would result in a loss of lifespan. Solar\npanels augment the energy, which allows what we call \u201chotel\u201d loads to operate\nfar longer than they normally would. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with any new technology, using solar does not come without a set of challenges. Certainly, there are many benefits to trucking with solar panels, but there are also a lot of challenges to consider. One of the main challenges trucking companies mention is that of cost. Money is always a motivator. Installing solar panels on a truck costs around $2,500 and it could take you anywhere from 2 \u2013 4 years to earn back the money depending on the application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another challenge is sun exposure. It really depends on where your company is trucking. Geography plays a large role in how much power you will be able to get to the panels. The less sun exposure the panel gets, the less power will be delivered to the vehicle or battery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Solar panels are also most effective when they are clean. It\nis important to make sure that dust, debris, and snow are all wiped clear of\nthe panel before the tractor-trailer hits the road. Some companies do make\ncoatings to prevent the formation of dirt and debris, but they are not\ncompletely foolproof. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even the North American Council\nfor Freight Efficiency<\/a> has weight in on the issue. In their 16th<\/sup>\nConfidence Report, \u201cSolar for Trucks and Trailers,\u201d they listed a 1-year\npayback when solar power is used to support telematics operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They also went on to state with high confidence that a move\nto solar provides a return on investment in about two years when it supports a\nrefrigerated application. Even solar-driven, battery-powered HVAC operations\nprovide a payback within three years. In almost any application, solar power\nhas been proven to provide a measurable positive impact on a trucking company\u2019s\nbottom line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a statement from NACFE executive director Mike\nRoeth, \u201cWhat we found is it [solar power] does have a real good place here;\ncost has come down and durability has come up, that flexible mounting has\nreally improved, as well as the performance of these panels. There are a lot of\noptions for these solar packs. It\u2019s really important to understand what the\nproblem is you\u2019re trying to solve for \u2026 and size those panels right for the use.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If there is one certainty out of all this, it is that the sun is an unlimited, reliable resource that can be used to keep your batteries in peak performance. In addition to saving costs by going solar, trucking companies also burnish their renewable, sustainable, and green credentials. Solar power is reliable and can generally work in some of the harshest conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n As motor carriers around the world find ways to cut costs and gain greater operational efficiency, they will need to turn to new and innovative methods, such as adopting solar technologies. Solar can help companies do more than just break-even; they can help significantly improve operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n