RelGen Prices Truck Liftgate, HVAC Batteries with out Idling  – Gear

Blackburn Power has developed an on-board charging system for heavy electrical masses reminiscent of battery-powered HVAC models and liftgates. Utilizing a 200-amp alternator pushed from the truck’s driveshaft, the RelGen system can eradicate idling for charging functions whereas charging auxiliary batteries thrice quicker than a regular engine-mounted alternator, in accordance with the corporate.

Blackburn’s RelGen makes use of a high-efficiency 200-amp alternator mounted on the within of the body rail simply behind the transmission. It’s pushed by the truck’s driveshaft via a specifically designed middle bearing. The alternator and the drive mechanism are shielded from the weather by a stainless-steel cowl and powder coated metal mounting plates. 

CEO and founder Andrew Amigo says there are a number of benefits to drawing on a kinetic energy supply aside from the engine.

• At freeway speeds, the drive shaft turns quicker than the alternator drive on the engine — thus extra vitality may be captured.
• The mid-ship place locations the alternator nearer to the batteries, shortening the cable run and minimizing voltage drop.
• To match the output of the RelGen system, truck homeowners would want to improve the inventory alternator and re-cable the charging system to accommodate the upper amperage.

“For a similar value as upgrading the alternator and re-cabling your entire truck, you possibly can set up RelGen Hybrid Charging and get the utmost efficiency out of your HVAC system or liftgate batteries,” Amigo says.

Powering Liftgates and Truck HVAC

To validate its claims, Blackburn Power commissioned the Division of Mechanical Engineering on the College of Massachusetts–Lowell to confirm the efficiency of the RelGen expertise. Researchers discovered that with the truck’s beginning batteries and alternator fully disconnected from the RelGen and its battery load, in a liftgate utility, the battery state of cost by no means dropped beneath 80% on the finish of the day over a 30-day interval. Based mostly on eliminating idling to maintain the liftgate batteries charged, researchers estimated gas financial savings alone would supply a payback in lower than a yr.

Evaluations with an electrical HVAC system confirmed RelGen might absolutely recharge a depleted four-battery AGM pack after lower than 4 hours of driving — roughly half the time it takes for the standard factory-installed alternator to cost the hotel-load batteries.

With a devoted hotel-load battery pack, there’s no want to keep up a reserve cost for beginning, so it might present longer run instances for the HVAC system.

The system can be obtainable in a hybrid configuration that fees solely when the truck is coasting or braking to provide zero-emissions vitality for the batteries. That setup comes with a telematics unit that data instances, areas, and length of the charging occasions for carbon credit score reporting.

For fleets contemplating an alternator improve to help electrical HVAC or liftgate charging, Blackburn Power says RelGen is a less expensive possibility from the beginning, and it offers better charging capability than typical high-output alternator configuration — whereas decreasing charging associated idling to cost batteries. It may be put in by expert mechanics in about 4 hours or at supplier mod outlets, in accordance with the corporate.