Truck Air Conditioning System works while engine is off.
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Press Release Summary:
Integrating with OEM auxiliary HVAC systems, ducts, and controls, NIA/C No-Idle System provides air conditioning to heavy-duty truck cabins while engine is turned off. It features externally mounted compressor/condenser for quiet sleeping environment, maintains comfortable cabin temperatures day or night, and offers one-button starting. Compliant with no-idle regulations, system cuts fuel consumption, engine wear, and emissions.
Original Press Release:
Behr Introduces No-Idle Air-Conditioners for Heavy-Duty Trucks
TROY, Mich., April 17 /- Behr America, one of the world's leading automotive air-conditioning and cooling systems suppliers, is working with a major U.S. truck manufacturer to launch its No-Idle Air-Conditioning (NIA/C) System in North America in 2007.
Behr's NIA/C System provides air conditioning to heavy-duty truck cabins while the engine is turned off. This system has become desirable in the U.S. as stringent emissions regulations and soaring prices of diesel fuel discourage leaving truck engines running.
Behr's technology brings comfort to long-haul truckers who sleep in their cabins. It also saves fuel and reduces emissions.
"Behr has been producing the NIA/C System for Europe since 2003," noted Frank Mueller, Behr America president and CEO. "With this launch, Behr now offers cost-effective products providing optimum value to its North American and European customers."
The U.S. system is integrated into the vehicle's architecture to deliver high performance and exceptional comfort.
Long-haul drivers have idled their engines while waiting to off-load or pick up materials at shipping docks and at weigh stations or rest areas. During stops, drivers keep their motors running to provide power to the trucks' heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and to ensure that the batteries remain charged as they power a variety of appliances (radios, televisions and microwave ovens).
"During rest periods, drivers normally idle their 400-to-500 horsepower engines to power loads that require a little more than 10 horsepower to operate," Mueller said. "This causes the main engine to run for extended periods of time at low efficiency and with disproportionately higher emissions than necessary."
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 960 million gallons of diesel fuel are burned annually by idling trucks in the U.S., wasting an estimated $2.6 billion.
Idling truck engines also emit by-products such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matters into the air, increasing air pollution. These pollutants are potentially harmful to drivers' health and job performance. In some cases, this health hazard can become a potential highway safety issue.
The running engine generates noise pollution that may prevent a driver from receiving a restful sleep and cancel out the benefits of the federal government's recommended extended rest hours. Idling for long periods of time also impacts maintenance costs, as routine wear and tear takes its toll on truck engines.
"Idling can add an equivalent of 20,000 miles a year to a truck's engine, which translates into more frequent maintenance visits or even requires a rebuilt engine sooner than would be needed," Mueller said. "Truck idling increasingly is recognized as a health and environmental problem as well as being energy inefficient."
Behr developed a high-performance, energy-efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly no-idle air conditioner to meet North American market demands. Major customer benefits are:
-- Reduced fuel consumption, engine wear and emissions
-- Compliance with no-idle regulations
-- Quicker engine starts in cold weather
-- Self-sufficient operation
-- No additional cabin space requirements, and
-- Reliability of factory-installed equipment.
Key features of the Behr Hi-Performance NIA/C system include:
-- Maintaining comfortable cabin temperatures day or night
-- Integration with original equipment manufacturer auxiliary HVAC systems, ducts and controls
-- Externally-mounted compressor/condenser for a quieter sleeping environment
-- APU or 100 VAC Shore Power and field-proven APU and HVAC system components
-- Integration of the system to the coolant heater, using the truck's existing HVAC control, and
-- One-button starting for cooling, heating or engine pre-heating.
Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, Behr America has nearly 3,000 employees at facilities in Troy, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, S.C.; Fort Worth, Texas, and Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
Behr GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart, Germany, is a systems partner for the international automobile industry. A specialist for automotive air- conditioning and engine-cooling systems, the Behr Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of original equipment for passenger and commercial vehicles. Group sales in the 2006 business year were approximately $4.2 billion. Currently Behr employs about 18,600 people at 17 development and 30 production sites, and an additional 13 joint-venture locations worldwide. Additional information is at www.behrgroup.com/.
CONTACT: Indira Sadikovic of Behr America, Inc., +1-248-743-3771, or indira.sadikovic@us.behrgroup.com
