Efficiency and fuel economy of refrigerated vehicles is a chief concern for many of our customers. This is especially true of smaller businesses, which might only have limited resources to devote to refrigerated transport. Improving this efficiency is an ongoing challenge for the industry, and that includes us here at CoolKit.
This week on the blog, we’re taking a quick look at the factors involved, as well as a couple of ways you can improve on the economy of your fridge or freezer van.
The fuel economy of chiller vans
The main challenges that the refrigerated vehicle industry faces come down to several key factors. In most refrigerated vehicles, the power for the refrigeration unit is directly provided from the van’s engine, which means that chiller vehicles tend to consume more fuel than the average van. What’s more, the extra weight of the insulation equipment increases the overall weight of the vehicle, even before it’s been loaded with cargo. Ultimately, the larger the truck and the heavier it’s loaded, the more fuel it consumes to drive itself forward.
However, vehicle manufacturers and specialist companies like CoolKit are constantly making headway into tackling these issues. The efficiency of the engine is a major factor in determining the vehicle’s fuel consumption, and many of the latest models have eco-boost technology to improve efficiency and thereby lower fuel consumption. As a general rule, the very newest vehicles tend to be fitted with these sorts of alterations, while the Euro 6 round of regulations is another governing factor in increasing fuel efficiency while also lowering emissions.
You can increase the fuel efficiency of your refrigerated van
Here at CoolKit, if efficiency is one of your foremost priorities, one of the very first courses of action that we’d suggest would be to carefully think about the number of fridge vans that you need. You may find, for example, that you can make all your deliveries just as well with just a single refrigerated van, as long as you schedule it wisely.
What’s more, you might even consider it worth leasing one of your vehicles from our range here at CoolKit, which can help keep your costs down as you use it to only make the deliveries that you need, using the bare minimum of fuel and therefore minimising your cost and emissions.
Finally, economical driving can help make a dramatic difference to the fuel economy of your fridge van. It might sound obvious, but you might be surprised at how often it’s overlooked! Setting off in plenty of time for journeys, smooth acceleration and gradual braking can all end up quickly making a noticeable difference to fuel consumption, especially over longer journeys.
Here at CoolKit, our fridge van conversions are second to none, and we are industry leaders in producing high-quality, efficient refrigerated vans that fulfil and often exceed our customer expectations. You can click here to learn more about our fridge van conversions, or alternatively you can browse our range of freezer vans here.
