The system was jointly developed by all three groups in 2017 and is being used in INL’s fleet of employee shuttle motor coaches that takes nearly 2,000 cars off the road every day. It enables the air conditioning system to continue to operate when the engine is turned off and has helped INL dramatically reduce its engine idling and in turn, its fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and engine wear.
“It’s an honor to receive this recognition for our work with INL and MCI,” says Bergstrom Vice President of Electrified Systems Terry Zeigler. “We support and actively search for cleaner, more energy-efficient technology that helps those in the motor coach industry and the many automotive industries we serve. This recognition is just another sign that our industry is quickly accepting and adapting more energy-efficient technologies that will help both our customers and the environment.”
The Innovative Solutions Award honors operators and solutions providers who develop innovative solutions that save money, run more efficiently, streamline operations, improve customer satisfaction or increase ridership. METRO Magazine, which serves bus and motor coach operators, recently announced the award recipients during the BusCon Breakfast Awards Ceremony in Indianapolis. Senior Development Engineer Brett Hermann, Senior Electronic Design Engineer Aaron Sullivan and Bergstrom Standard Products Division National Sales Manager Mike Aldred were key to the success of the project and accepted the award on behalf of Bergstrom.
With funding support from the Department of Energy’s Sustainability Performance Office, Bergstrom, INL and MCI collaborated to design and modify a bus cooling-ventilating system that would sharply reduce idle emissions. After a pilot proof-of-concept, the no-idle HVAC project was completed with the installation of the Bergstrom battery electric APU with solar, the system was then rolled out to the INL fleet vehicles to help further reduce their consumption of petroleum fuels.
