A wide range of technologies and upgrades are available to help diesel trucks improve fuel economy and decrease harmful emissions. Decreasing diesel fuel consumption benefits our environment, health, and economy by:

• Reducing the formation of acid rain and ground level smog
• Improving air quality
• Decreasing the incidences of asthma and respiratory illnesses
• Saving money
• Facilitating our transition away from foreign oil

In response to legislation passed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2007, new trucks will be 95% cleaner than old trucks. But due to the durability of diesel engines, it will take 25-30 years to turnover the fleet to the cleaner trucks. In that time, it is vital to upgrade the existing fleet. One program leading the way is SmartWay Transport, a voluntary partnership between the EPA and freight industry. A truck with SmartWay Technology can cut fuel consumption by 25%, saving on average 5,000 gallons per year per truck.

Idle Reduction, long-haul truck drivers idle their engines to run the heat or air conditioning, to power on-board microwaves or televisions, or to keep the engine warm enough to prevent the engine block from freezing.

When idling, long-haul trucks consume 0.8 gallons of fuel per hour. A survey revealed truck drivers idle 6-8 hours per day for 300 days per year. Annually, truck idling consumes 960 million gallons of diesel fuel, emitting 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, 180,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 5,000 tons of particulate matter. To read the complete studies, visit the EPA website.

Idle reduction technologies include

• Auxiliary Power Units
  APUs are small portable generators providing electricity for heating, cooling and powering other on-board devices, eliminating the need for engine idling. The use of APUs results in approximately an 80% decrease in fuel consumption.
• Direct-fired heaters and coolant systems provide temperature control.
• Programmable automatic engine shut-off systems.
• Truck Stop Electrification
  On-board TSE means using batteries to provide power for electric appliances and recharging the batteries at truck stops. Off-board TSE allows trucks to connect to the electrical grid at truck stops and draw power for the cab for heating, cooling, and possibly Internet access.

Improved Aerodynamics save more than 2,000 gallons of fuel annually per truck.

Tractor aerodynamics can be improved by adding integrated roof fairings, cab extenders, side fairings, and air dams.

Trailer aerodynamics can be improved by minimizing tractor-trailer gap, adding side skirts and rear air dams, and arranging cargo and tarpaulins as low, taut and smooth as possible.

Single-unit trucks can be improved with air deflector bubbles.

Automatic Tire Inflation Systems save more than 100 gallons of fuel annually per truck. ATI systems constantly monitor tire pressure and automatically inflate leaking tires to the proper pressure while the truck is in motion, increasing fuel economy.

Installed on drive and trailer tires, an ATI system generally pays for itself in 2 years.

For a complete explanation, read the EPA technical bulletin Automatic Tire Inflation Systems.

Single Wide-base Tires save fuel by reducing vehicle weight, rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag. Gas mileage improves 2-5% and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions decrease when two thinner tires are replaced with a single wide-base tire. On average, 728 gallons of diesel is saved per year for one truck traveling 125,000 miles annually.

For more information, read the EPA technical bulletin Wide-based Tires and the EPA scientific paper Effect of Single Wide Tires and Trailer Aerodynamics on Fuel Economy and NOx Emissions of Class 8 Line-Haul Tractor-Trailers.

Driver Training increases fuel economy by 5-20%. Driver training techniques include progressive shifting, engine speed optimization, idle reduction, smoother braking and acceleration, anticipatory driving, speed control, and optimal gearing.

Oregon Department of Energy
Businesses with an Oregon tax liability are eligible for a 35% tax credit for investing in efficient truck technologies such as idle reduction equipment, aerodynamic packages, single-wide tires and wheels, and automatic tire inflation systems. Eligibility requirements and applications can be found at oregon.gov.

SmartWay Transport
To help pay for fuel saving technologies, the SmartWay truck loan is available for qualified small businesses. For more information, visit SmartWay Transport.

Cascade Sierra Solutions
Cascade Sierra Solutions offers low-cost financing and coordinates incentives from three states and the federal government to assist truckers in upgrading. And if your truck or trucks are Oregon base-plated, you are qualified to apply for the Everybody Wins lease program. For more financing information, visit Cascade Sierra Solutions.

Washington
Idle reduction tax incentives are available for projects enabling trucks to use auxiliary power either onboard or at truck stop electrification systems. For more information, visit eere.energy.gov.

Additional Resources
View the EPA's table of acceptable retrofit technologies.

For a more detailed and complete listing of truck technologies, visit Cascade Sierra Solutions, an organization dedicated to upgrading tractor-trailer trucks with fuel saving and emissions-reducing technologies.

Q:	What is harmful about diesel exhaust?
A:	Diesel exhaust is a mixture of gases and particles that cause environmental and health problems. Of the more than 40 toxic air contaminants, four "criteria pollutants" emitted are especially threatening: sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon monoxide. In Oregon, diesel exhaust is the number one contributor to outdoor air toxics and is 30 times greater than the second greatest contributor.
Q:	How can diesel exhaust be cleaned up?
A:	Reducing emissions can occur in 3 ways: installing pollution control devices (retrofits) to remove some of the emissions from the exhaust, using less fuel through efficiency measures, and using a cleaner burning fuel.

To learn more on diesel fuel emissions, read the Oregon Environmental Council publications Drop by Drop and The Dirt on Diesel.