Monday, October 6, 2008

So your truck really IS bigger than mine...

And I thought my fuel consumption was high. Turns out the average 18 wheeler consumes about $9000 in fuel idling each year during rest stops to keep the cab cool. Turns out there is a gizmo (imagine that) out there to eliminate that. It's called 'Blue Cool' and it essentially chills a chemical mix (300 pounds of it) while the truck is going down the road -- when you pull off for a bite or a break, the engine goes off and the Blue Cool supplies the chill for 10 hours!

Similar solutions are starting to show up in commercial buildings which form ice during night hours (when it is cooler outside and power is MUCH cheaper). Then during office hours when there is peak power demand, the air conditioning comes from the ice, not electricity.

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