OXFORD, OH – Miami University, located in Oxford, Ohio, has started using an anti-idling technology in its fleet vehicles. With a fleet of more than 500 units, the university initially installed the devices in four vehicles, according to said Kirk Knobel, Sales & Marketing Manager for Transportation Safety Technologies, the company providing the anti-idling technology.

In addition, the university has already decided to implement the technology in 10 to 20 additional vehicles. Miami University is handling installation of the devices.

"Unnecessary engine idling is the largest factor in how much fuel a fleet wastes," said Clarence Blevins, manager of physical facilities for Miami University. "Installing the Idle Guard 200 in our maintenance vehicles will help the university save money while reducing our carbon footprint, and that's something we're proud to be a part of."

The technology is called Idle Guard 200. The device is triggered via a positive or negative signal from the parking brake on a vehicle with a manual transmission or the park/neutral shifter setting on a vehicle with an automatic transmission. The device shuts off the engine by fuel shut-off for a vehicle with a diesel engine or via the ignition in a vehicle with a gasoline engine.

“While it is too early for Miami University to report on the average percentage of fuel reduction (they will be tracking this data), according to some of our other Idle Guard 200 customers, many trucks in operation can idle as long as 1-2 hours per day,” said Knobel. “The lion’s share of our customer base is operating 8-cylinder engines and greater. So, it could save them 1 to 1.5 gallons of fuel per day per truck.”

The university is expecting a 60-90-day ROI for the new units based on that amount of reduction in fuel use.

By Greg Basich