Irvine Ranch Water District
http://www.irwd.com/liquid-news/news-releases/archive/irvine-ranch-water-district-improves-fuel-efficiency-with-green-fleet.html
Irvine Ranch Water District Improves Fuel Efficiency with ‘Green Fleet’
Published Thursday, November 3, 2011
Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500
Smaller Trucks, Hybrid Vehicles, Alternative Fuels and Rideshare Help Reduce Overall Carbon Footprint
The Irvine Ranch Water District believes in efficiency with all resources. That’s one reason the District has committed to being fuel efficient.
Prior to 2008, the IRWD fleet was composed of 195 vehicles, most of which were full-sized pickup trucks. A study was conducted to evaluate the mix of fleet vehicles.
“We identified 52 positions where a smaller vehicle would perform adequately and instituted a vehicle downsizing program,” said IRWD Fleet Services Manager John Dayer. “Today, our fleet stands at 185 vehicles of which, 32 are hybrid passenger cars, hybrid sport utility vehicles, or light duty pickups. As a class, this group of vehicles is achieving a 43 percent improvement in fuel economy over the trucks they replaced.”
The hybrid vehicles in particular are the biggest contributor to greening the IRWD fleet. These hybrids have drive systems with proven technology that place no additional demands on the IRWD maintenance staff, but deliver fuel economy consistently over 40 mpg.
“In simplest terms, when stopping a conventional vehicle, the energy of the moving mass dissipates as heat through brake pads or shoes,” Dayer said. “In a hybrid drive, the energy of the moving vehicle is converted to electricity, which is stored in a battery and used to help launch the vehicle the next time it accelerates. “
The vehicle downsizing program has been a win-win for the District with lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduced fuel consumption.
Alternative Fuels
Since 2002, the District has purchased only alternative fueled vehicles as replacements for conventional diesel fueled trucks. Diesel engines have been identified as a leading source of cancer-causing particulate emissions in the South Coast basin. The diesel powered vehicles that remain in the fleet have been retrofitted with particulate filters in the exhaust which reduce particulate emissions by 90 percent.
Rideshare
IRWD has an aggressive rideshare program that includes ride-to-work, walk-to-work, and a vanpool program. Today, one third of all District employees participate in the vanpool, while 68 percent participate in at least one element of the rideshare program.
For more information about IRWD environmental programs, please visit our website.
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