American Idlers: Big Rigs Adopt Solar Technology to Reduce Idling Time

The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab estimates that in the United States, long-distance tractor trailer trucks with sleeper compartments use nearly 670 million gallons of fuel to idle more than 830 million hours overnight each year. Drivers idle their vehicles overnight in order to operate their in-cab entertainment and HVAC systems; as well as other applications, such as refrigeration units and safety lighting.

Now, Arpin Renewable Energy, a West Warwick, Rhode Island-based research and development company that offers green alternatives to the moving industry, has joined with Warwick-based eNow to help its own sister company, Arpin Van Lines, “move in another direction.”

“We believe strongly in the work that eNow is doing to make industrial transportation greener,” said Peter Arpin, president of Arpin Renewable Energy “Arpin Van Lines has been testing these systems on its moving trucks for the past two years and we have witnessed significant cost savings. We want our agents across the country to be among the first adopters of this technology, [serving as] a model for other transportation industries to follow.”

Founded in 2011, eNow offers advanced solar power technologies to the transportation industry. It retrofits solar panels onto a company’s existing trucks, so they can capture and convert the sun’s energy into usable power to reduce vehicle operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The photovoltaic cells capture energy through the panels and then store it in batteries in order to distribute it to features in the truck.

“There are over 15 million medium and heavy duty trucks on the road and over 650,000 trucking companies in the United States,” commented Jeff Flath, founder and CEO of eNow. “Growing regulations on idling time as well as fluctuations in fuel costs are encouraging transportation companies to seek alternative means of saving money. We are thrilled to be partnering with Arpin Renewable Energy to make our solar power technology accessible to all transportation industries.”

ENow is offering several financing options to minimize the financial risk for companies that are exploring the cost savings options like solar technology.