It is vital that EMS Emergency Services fleets are always powered up. ACETECH™ SOLAR supplies an endless and unlimited source of energy, reducing the need for engine idle or return to base for shoreline power. This helps our clients to optimise their fleets’ operations, cut costs and minimize their environmental footprint.
With this state-of-the-art system you can keep track of your battery levels and fuel consumption on a desktop or mobile device. ACETECH™ SOLAR automatically charges your batteries to keep your fleet and electronic equipment operational. With reduced shoreline charging (commonly from carbon intensive energy sources) the fleet has more efficient EMS fleets. Always-on charging keeps equipment at optimum levels and ready-to-go. The reduced power consumption on the engine significantly reduces idling and reduces fuel consumption by up to 300l of fuel per vehicle annually.
Potential for saving water
It takes about 120,000 litres of water to produce a small car, therefore it can take a minimum of 180,000 litres of water to produce one standard sized ambulance (and that does not include the equipment that you will find in said ambulance).
By making EMS fleets more efficient and reducing their down-time by the use of our ACETECH™ SOLAR and other ECO Green Tech we are making ambulance fleets smaller, saving millions of gallons of water in the process.
The introduction of our ACETECH™ SOLAR solution to a fleet also reduces the number of battery replacements required per vehicle each year, reducing this number from 5 replacements to just 2 to 3 replacements each year. This has a significant impact on water usage as battery production is quite water intensive.
Effects on waste and biodiversity
As mentioned in the previous point, one of the ACETECH™ SOLAR module’s savings is in battery replacements per vehicle per year, reducing this by between 40 to 60% per vehicle per year. Battery waste is a particularly prevalent problem, especially due to the critical impact it can have on the environment and biodiversity.
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Back in 2016, FireRescue1 did an article on how Solar Panels on a fleet could be very cost effective, they spoke to Dan Fellows, fleet manager of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, who won an EMS10 Award for his innovative approach to using solar energy to supplement the electrical needs of ambulances.
Fellows, responsible for the design and day-to-day operation of 40 ambulances, is constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency. He decided to explore the use of solar panels when an RAA resource vehicle did not have access to a shoreline power plug at headquarters.
“The solar panels installed on this (resource) unit did an excellent job of charging the battery needed to start the vehicle each morning, so we decided to try solar panels on a standard ambulance to see if we would have similarly positive results,” Fellows said.
“There were many factors to work through such as secure mounting and wiring the panels directly to the vehicle’s battery so the solar energy could power the ambulance’s entire electrical system,” Fellows said.
The solar panels charge the emergency vehicle’s secondary battery which powers on-board equipment such as defibrillators, satellite navigations systems and communication devices.
Before, ambulances had to let their engines run idle while on standby between emergency calls to keep the equipment charged.
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Benefits of ACETECH™ SOLAR
| PERFORMANCE Reduce shoreline charging and ensure your fleet is always powered up and ready to go. | COSTS ACETECH™ SOLAR helps lower fuel consumption and battery maintenance costs to create a more cost-effective fleet. | GREEN FLEET Reducing engine idling times minimises your fleets emissions and contributes to a green environment. | INSIGHTS All data is fed into ACETECH™ Vehicle Intelligence so you can view detailed fleet information for better decision making. |
For more information on ACETECH™ SOLAR click HERE
FireRescue1. 2016. Solar Panels On Ambulances Save Money. [online] Available at: https://www.firerescue1.com/apparatus/articles/solar-panels-on-ambulances-save-money-fe8kuFPt3szNJVhb/
Automotiveworld.com. 2020. Water, Water, Everywhere In Vehicle Manufacturing | Automotive World. [online] Available at: <https://www.automotiveworld.com/articles/water-water-everywhere-vehicle-manufacturing/>