The Department of Vehicle Services of Fairfax County, Va., is equipping its fleet in the Division of Solid Waste with battery-powered air conditioning systems from Dometic Corporation in a move to reduce idling of vehicles.
The organization is installing the Dometic day-cab air-conditioning systems on six of its solid waste haulers.
“We were looking for a cost-effective solution to reduce fuel consumption and harmful emissions by dramatically decreasing the amount of time idling,” said Dave DuVal, Quality Control Superintendent.
The Dometic day cab HVAC package includes a 7,000-BTU air conditioner, 2,000-watt power inverter, high-performance 270-amp alternator and a bank of three absorbed glass mat (AGM) batteries. The Dometic air-conditioning system consists of a compressor/evaporator/blower unit, with a heavy-duty composite protective cover, which fits between the seats in the cab, and a condenser mounted outside of the cab. The two units and the reusable refrigerant linesets with quick-connect fittings are precharged at the factory so no field charging is necessary.
“We have engineered this system to meet the operational requirements of day cab fleets, providing up to two hours of air-conditioning comfort without running the truck’s engine,” said Lou Siegel, senior vice president, Dometic Automotive. “The inverter contains an automatic low-voltage shutoff switch to ensure that there will always be sufficient battery power to start the engine, and the high-performance alternator has been designed to recharge the AGM batteries quickly and keep them fully charged when the truck is running.”
Dometic also offers a full range of battery-powered air-conditioning packages for small, medium and large sleeper cabs, designed to provide 10 or more hours of comfort between recharges.