Trucking companies use APUs to reduce their fuel costs and enhance driver comfort, and an APU like Thermo King’s TriPac system consumes as little as 10 percent the amount of fuel a tractor engine would per running hour, say company officials.
To increase efficiency and further reduce fuel consumption, it’s also important to manage the operation and runtime of the APU. In order to help business owners and drivers accomplish this, Thermo King has made several enhancements available for the TriPac system.
Through extensive testing, Thermo King was able to identify battery charging as one of the leading causes of APU runtime. Even though the temperature of the cab may be comfortable, the driver often uses an inverter to run televisions, laptops, cell phones, refrigerators, microwaves and other devices.
Thermo King engineers addressed the need to support these devices by upgrading the alternator voltage and adding a remote battery condition sense circuit to the unit to allow the TriPac to charge more rapidly the tractor batteries, enabling the system to shut down sooner.
Additionally, Thermo King has also introduced a 1,000-watt pure sine wave inverter as a standard option on the TriPac. The 1,000-watt inverter is more efficient and is more compatible with sensitive electronics such as CPAP machines and microwave ovens.
In addition to the 1,000-watt pure sine, Thermo King continues to offer the 1,800-watt modified sine wave inverter.
Local Thermo King dealers can provide more information on the TriPac system.
