Blue is the new green
February 1st 2009 Nominated for the FLTA's Innovation Award, STILL says its Blue-Q system can save up to 20 per cent
energy consumption by optimising drive characteristics and turning off unused electrical components
Customers are no longer simply
demanding maximum
throughput from their materials
handling fleet, but the market trend is
towards productivity gains with energy
savings. This was the reasoning behind
STILL's latest energy saving innovation,
Blue-Q which has been nominated for
the Fork Lift Truck Association's 2009
Innovation Award.
When the driver presses the Blue-Q
button the truck's drive characteristics
are intelligently optimised, thus saving
energy wherever it is not needed in the
work process. As well as affecting the
drive characteristics, Blue-Q mode switches off
any electrical components not being used. For
example, the driver only needs reverse lights
when travelling backwards. In this instance, when
driving in Blue-Q mode the truck automatically
dims the spotlights to the front. Blue-Q also
switches off the driving lights and cabin heater
when the truck has been standing for a while, or
if the driver has left the truck. These so called
'additional consumers' can make up to 35% of an
electric truck's total energy consumption.
Depending on the application and the
truck's equipment, 10-20% energy
consumption can be saved. For an
electric truck with 1.6 tonnes capacity,
this equates to approximately 2,500
over a five year, three-shift operation.
This estimation is based on the energy
savings alone, but using Blue-Q reduces
wear to the battery and improves
utilisation time per battery charge
further reducing costs. In addition, STILL
trucks fitted with Blue-Q produce fewer
CO2 emissions over their lifetime less
energy is needed, therefore less energy
is produced (and related CO2 emissions).
Initially, Blue-Q will be available on the STILL RX
20/RX 60 electric counterbalance forklift truck
range. More articles from Still Materials Handling Ltd: | 
