Keep On Truckin’ With Less Drag, Better Fuel Efficiency
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 05.25.07
Just when you thought you have every add-on and doodad for your 18 wheeler, an Israeli professor in engineering has made a device that can help make your truck fleet go green. Highlighted at the World’s Best Technologies Showcase in Fort Worth Texas last week, Professor Avi Seifert has devised an anti-drag device that can increase fuel efficiency as much as 10%. Experts commercializing the technology at the University, say that the device could save Americans as much as $400 million dollars worth of fuel every year. Less fuel consumption, needless to say, goes hand in hand with reducing greenhouse gases and a happier planet.
The device which is still in the prototype stage (and looking for an investor) is a small actuator that can be attached to a truck or its trailer. Using a combined action of suction and pulsed blowing of airflow, reports the University’s website, the device reduces drag in a controlled manner. At an expected end-user cost of $1000 to $2000 per unit, the device could pay for itself in a year. And if developed in time, it could be one of those blockbuster Christmas gifts like The Clapper, remote-controlled garage door openers and heated slippers. But don't stop at this post truckers. TreeHugger archives report on many ways to make your trucks go green. Here, here and here. ::TAU News
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