Six of Golden Key Express’s eight car-hauling Peterbilts are outfitted with the latest in anti-idling technology, run only on batteries.

Harold White’s desire to get a good night’s sleep prompted the owner of California-based auto hauler Golden Key Express to select battery-powered auxiliary power units for six of his sleeper tractors. “After being around reefers for 25 years, I didn’t want to have the sound of that [diesel] motor running while I was trying to sleep,” White says. “I didn’t want another motor running.”

White also isn’t losing sleep over the fact that he’s not burning any fuel to operate his APUs. “Fuel is extremely important these days with the cost,” he says. “I didn’t want to burn any extra fuel at all.” Of his battery-powered APUs, manufactured by Dometic, he says, “They’re extremely efficient, and they’re comparable in weight to the ones with diesel motors.”

Most truckers are familiar with diesel-fired APUs, which have been around since the 1980s. But a perfect storm of rising fuel prices, a growing number of state and local anti-idling laws and the hassle of having to perform maintenance on another diesel engine is winning converts such as White to battery-powered auxiliary HVAC systems.

Normandin Transit, a fleet of 250 tractors and 500 trailers in Napierville, Quebec, used diesel-powered APUs until 2004. Since then the fleet has switched to battery-powered units in about 170 of its newest trucks, says Daniel Pascau, assistant fleet manager. Future trucks also will be equipped with a battery-based APU and a battery monitoring system.

Normandin uses the Thermoteck 12-volt cooling system developed by Quebec-based Redtech. Normandin trucks operate with two sets of batteries, with one set for the APU and the other for starting. “The APU batteries are recharged in about four hours of driving, and then you’re ready for another 10 to 12 hours of air-conditioning the next night,” Pascau says. For heating, the company installs diesel-fired heaters in the cab, burning less than a gallon for eight hours.