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The Cost of Idling
According to estimates by Argonne National Laboratory, in any given year, it's not uncommon for long-haul truckers to travel 150,000 miles and idle more than 1,800 hours. With today's high fuel prices, the average Class 7 and 8 truck wastes upwards of $6,000 in fuel and associated costs idling each year.
Argonne National Laboratory developed a formula for calculating the cost of truck engine idling, to help truck owners estimate the potential savings from reduced idling. The formula is only a guideline. Actual results depend greatly on individual circumstances. (The NITE site's "idling cost calculator" also shows you how much you'll save by stopping the idling today.)
Fuel consumption during idling calculation
You can use the table below to estimate how many gallons of diesel fuel your vehicle consumes during an hour of idling. Locate your engine RPM and parasitic brake horsepower (BHP) at idle. Typical accessories used during idling require 10 to 20 BHP per hour.
For example, 1,000 RPM at a BHP of 10 consumes 1.2 gallons per hour. At 1,000 RPM and 20 BHP per hour for accessories, the rate of fuel consumption is 1.55 gallons per hour.
| RPM |
Brake Horsepower of Accessories (BHP)
| |
0 |
5 |
10 |
20 |
30 |
| 800 |
0.6* |
0.7 |
1.0 |
1.4 |
1.7 |
| 1,000 |
0.75 |
1.0 |
1.2 |
1.55 |
2.0 |
| 1,200 |
1.0 |
1.2 |
1.5 |
1.8 |
2.25 |
*Fuel consumption during idling, gallons per hour
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