The Problem Idling comes from idle which means absence of motion. In the present case IDLING relates to a running engine that is powering a vehicle when it is not moving. Engine idling is a major problem for smog, urban air pollution and greenhouse gases and can be avoided by several means. Most of the methods have been oriented on buses, trucks or public awareness campaigns.
“’Existing Policies”’ Various states and localities have passed laws pertaining to idling. Some of the laws are more strict and stringent than others. Thirty-one states currently have some sort of existing regulations pertaining to anti-idling. Virginia, for example, in the Virginia Administrative Code, ARTICLE 41. EMISSION STANDARDS FOR MOBILE SOURCES (RULE 4-41), 9 VAC 5-40-5670, prohibits "motor vehicles licensed for commercial or public service use" from idling their engines in excess of three minutes when the vehicle is parked "unless the propulsion engine is providing auxiliary power for other than heating or air conditioning." There are a few expressed exceptions to this, the first being that "tour buses may idle for up to ten minutes while parked in order to maintain power to the air-conditioning system" and the second being that "diesel powered vehicles may idle for up to ten minutes to minimize restart problems." [1]At the local level, there are many municipalities that have enacted anti-idling regulations. The Fairfax County Code, for example, Section 103-3-10, states that "No person shall cause or permit the emission of visible air contaminants from a mobile source of a density equal to or greater than twenty (20) percent opacity for longer than five (5) consecutive seconds after the operating engine of the mobile source has been brought up to operating temperature." [2]
Technologies There are a variety of reasons that bus drivers idle their engines. The majority of engine idling occurs in the morning, when drivers are warming up the engines and the passenger compartments. Part of the problem with excessive idling, other than the immense amount of fuel it uses, is driver mentality coming from lack of knowledge about the fuel consumption of an idling engine. Typically, a bus driver will turn on the bus when they wake up, then proceed to get ready for the day, creating a period of excessive idling of up to half an hour. The objective of fuel-operated heaters is to eliminate this need for idling, which in turn reduces fuel consumption and costs. This technology works by using the coolant system to warm the engine, and the “thermal energy gained is then distributed through the vehicle's own heat exchanger as forced hot air. This [process] heats the interior of the vehicle via existing air vents. The engine is [also] warmed up with the residual heat in the cooling water” [3]. In general, coolant heaters burns eight times less fuel that an idling engine would, simultaneously emitting 1/20th of the emissions and producing heat significantly faster.
Future A brief look at what some localities and what state and federal governments are doing in terms of new policy, if any. Any upcoming technologies being released or significant projects being planned.