Green Energy News | August 23, 1998

August 23, 1998 – Vol.3 No.21

ENERGIES... week of August 23,1998

GOING WITH THE FLOW. Aerodynamic drag robs fuel. The partial vacuum behind fast moving cars, trucks and trailers has effect of pulling the vehicle backwards. The greater the vacuum the more power is needed to keep up a desired speed.

While cars can be designed to be aerodynamically sleek, trucks and trailers need to be big and square. Boxes fit well inside other boxes. To eliminate or reduce the vacuum behind the flat rear end of a truck or trailer a steady flow of air has to be forced into the area behind the vehicle. Airtabs (tm) from Aeroserve Technologies might do the job.

Airtabs are mounted on the sides of a tractor or trailer and direct air into the gap between the two, or into the turbulent area behind the vehicle. The company hopes that Airtabs will catch on the same way cab-top air deflectors have since the 1980’s to save fuel. Despite historically low fuel costs at present, fuel is still a large expense for truckers. The company guarantees a 4% fuel savings with Airtabs.

Editor’s note: If you don’t think the vacuum behind a truck has much power, watch truckers on a highway. They often “draft” in the wake of a leading truck for a “free” ride. Race car drivers do the same thing. Don’t try this yourself.

WORLD E-BIKE MARKETS. It’s unfortunate that light-weight, energy-efficient bicycles have to share the same space as heavy, fast-moving cars and trucks. For this reason, and a few others, bicycles remain only recreational vehicles in the U.S. - elsewhere they’re accepted as viable transportation.

ZAP Power Systems, an electric bicycle manufacturer, has announced a $150,000 sale to France, England and Belgium and is opening an office in Switzerland, to cover European market for e-bikes. They’ve also opened an office in Shanghai where a large number of two-stroke gas scooters contribute to air and noise pollution. In the U.S., ZAP will sell bikes for resale to CSW Total EV. CSW will be marketing e-bikes from ZAP as well as US ProDrive in eight U.S. states for the recreational market.

MARKETING EFFICIENT LIGHTING. Compact fluorescent bulbs have yet to be a hit in the marketplace - especially when standard light bulbs sell for less than a dollar. None-the-less the bulbs come in new configurations and some are dimmable.

Nexus Energy Software has opened EnergyPlace where consumers can view these new products, other energy efficient ones and purchase them as well. And if you live in the New England states you can also check out your potential energy savings and possible rebates from your utility company by entering your zip code and frequency of use information. Hopefully this service will extend to other states.