Case Study: 10% Fuel Savings for Fire Protection Service
July 5, 2024500% 1st Year ROI on $50/PU Investment
Annually, the fire department stops by our business for their annual inspection. We passed with flying colors, mainly due to the dedicated services of Durbiano Fire Protection. Their staff drives from business-to-business, maintaining fire protection systems. In our case, fire extinguishers properly placed with easy access and in plain view. Like all commercial fleets, an extra mile per gallon fuel savings can have a significant impact on their bottom line.
To keep tabs on fuel expenses, Durbiano’s fleet of 8 vehicles fuel up at McCormix Oil Corporation. McCormix Oil is a locally owned petroleum distributor, which offers a value-added service. It links its fleet customers to the Commercial Fueling Network. Drivers key in their odometer mileage at fill up and, with their monthly statement, mileage records are provided. (There are lots of other services offered, as well, but these are of interest to us.) A consistent pattern of third-party mileage tracking gives us a good set of data with which to compare mileage without (baseline), then after AeroHance Pods are installed on the vehicle.
We installed a kit of AeroHance Pods on the Chevrolet S10 pick-up truck, with bed cover, of Durbiano Fire Protection that services our businesses. With an average baseline mileage of 10.7 mpg, it sure can use some help with its fuel economy.
Third-party mileage tracking by McCormix Oil provides a reliable data set for comparative mileage. Drivers key in their odometer mileage at fill up and, with their monthly statement, mileage records provided over 7 months of driving document 10.9% better fuel economy.
Durbiano's Data SetThe classic Chevy Pick-up is a reliable work horse of a vehicle. With bed cover, its shape might be described as a “box,” which is anything but aerodynamic.
AeroHance Pods are aerodynamic exterior automotive accessories that easily attach, in this case, using 3-m automotive tape. (Ferrous surfaces can use easy-on-easy-off magnetic AeroHance Pods.) The bed cover is not ferrous, and placement across its rear roof line is optimum. This is just before the point where air disengages from the vehicle, forming a pocket of turbulence or drag that follows blunt back vehicle shapes. AeroHance Pods help to limit that turbulence, or drag, by contributing its aerodynamic shape to the vehicle profile, and adjusting the air flow trailing behind.
After installing AeroHance Pods on the rear roof of its bed cover and driving more than 2000 miles on the same regular route, this same driver, and same Chevrolet Pick Up Truck, with bed cover. That’s an extra mile per gallon, or more than 10% increase in fuel efficiency!
I don’t have to tell any of you what a 10% increase in fuel economy can mean to the bottom line of a commercial fleet, but what does it mean for the community, and the world? During the 4 months term of the test, this one vehicle reduced its carbon footprint by 369 lbs, and saved 1847 gallons of water for other purposes, such as fighting fires that are sure to again come, instead of petroleum production.
