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| Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus |
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Welcome to E-News Updates! The Latest in Advanced Energy’s... Advanced Energy has expanded its PHESB testing by working with several school districts throughout the United States. The testing currently in progress includes data collected from plug-in hybrid and control buses in:
In addition to test data, fuel data from buses in Rock Hill (South Carolina), Columbia (South Carolina) and Sigourney (Iowa) have also been evaluated. Some aspects of PHESB performance being investigated through testing include:
The impact of targeted route selection on overall fuel economy is an area of great interest with regard to data collection. This is especially true in larger school districts where a single bus may support multiple routes per shift per day. Based on testing to-date, there is reason to believe that selection of routes which maximize the benefits that PHESBs have over traditional buses is a key component of proper PHESB utilization. In addition, there is concern that the scarcity of charging outlets may inhibit the fuel conservation potential of PHESBs. The Importance of Route Selection in Bus Performance Advanced Energy has recently focused their testing and monitoring efforts on evaluating the impact of route selection in PHESB performance. Advanced Energy performed fuel economy tests with PHESBs in a variety of conditions in an effort to determine the characteristics of an ideal bus route. The following key route features were found to have a significant impact on fuel economy for a plug-in hybrid bus:
In a collaborative effort with the Pupil Transportation Group at the Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), Advanced Energy has been developing a process for efficiently examining a school district’s bus routes for optimal PHESB performance. In addition to the geography and other characteristics of a route, school districts will need to consider their flexibility in assigning and changing routes when purchasing a plug-in hybrid bus. Some districts give their transportation directors 100% authority in assigning and changing bus routes, while others move buses to different routes from year to year to maintain consistent mileage on their fleet . Some districts may purchase buses as needed and assign the new buses to new routes, rather than shuffling existing routes. Maintaining consistency with bus drivers and bus numbers is important for the children riding the buses, especially for the younger riders. This must be considered when making bus assignments. Advanced Energy will be at the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), Oct 31 – Nov 5, 2009 The NAPT will host their annual conference and trade show in Louisville, Kentucky this year. This venue provides a great opportunity to learn about the latest technologies from manufacturers, attend professional development seminars and network with other transportation directors. Staci Haggis, Engineer and Ken Dulaney, Director Industrial, Commercial, Transportation from Advanced Energy will be there meeting with school districts and attending the trade show. If you are planning to attend, please contact Staci to schedule a time to meet and discuss the PHESB project in depth. Welcome DTE Energy and Ann Arbor Public Schools to the PHESB Program! Advanced Energy is pleased to welcome DTE Energy and Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) to the PHESB Program. DTE Energy purchased a plug-in hybrid school bus with grant funding and donated it to AAPS. Advanced Energy will be installing on-board data logging equipment to monitor the bus’ performance over an eight month period. |
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