Reduce engine idling with these tips

3 Easy Ways to Save Fuel and Money

To maximize your fleet's profitability, avoid engine idling whenever possible. Reducing idling helps save fuel and minimize engine wear—and that adds up. A 2019 North American Council for Freight Efficiency report found that reducing idling time by 10% equals about 1% in fuel economy annually—or roughly $700 per year per truck at $3.00/gallon fuel prices and 100,000 miles/year for the average truck. Of course, less idling also means fewer exhaust emissions, which helps everyone.

One way to reduce idling is investing in new technology. Joe Scarnecchia, Powertrain Sales Manager for Mack Trucks, recommends using an electric Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), such as the one available for the 70-inch Mack Anthem® sleeper models: “An electric or diesel-powered APU will improve profitability by saving fuel, considering a diesel engine at idle will use 0.5 - 1 GPH (gallons per hour) on average.” Estimates suggest fleets using electric APUs could save $3,250 per truck per year.

But while technology can help, Scarnecchia says drivers are the ones ultimately responsible for reducing idling. Here’s three tips he gives drivers to save money:

• Don’t idle at 1,000RPM. This used to be true, but not anymore: “At 1,000 RPM, the engine uses a lot more fuel. For more than 20 years, engines have been engineered to operate at a lower idle RPM.”
• Don’t disable the Idle Shutdown feature on Mack trucks. “It’s set for a reason, and that is to save fuel.” And it reduces emissions, too.
• It’s better to be safe than sorry. “I’ve seen drivers leave the engine idling to go into a warehouse for ‘just a few minutes.’ Forty-five minutes later, he’s still in the warehouse and the engine’s still idling. If Idle Shutdown is not set to automatically shut down the engine and there is no reason for the engine to idle, always shut down the engine before exiting the truck.”