If one owns transport refrigeration units (TRUs) and have one of the 56,700 TRUs that operate daily in California, one needs to be aware that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has proposed new regulations that impact TRU emissions in addition to other items.
Main Proposed Concepts
- All TRUs must register with CARB – Timing 2022
- All newly manufactured truck, trailer, domestic shipping containers, and rail TRUs manufactured with refrigerant must have a Global Warming Potential (GWP) less than or equal to 2,200 – Timing 2022
- All trailer and domestic shipping container TRUs will meet zero-emission operation when parked or stationary for more than 15 minutes at an applicable facility – Timing 2025
- All trailer and domestic shipping container TRUs must be equipped with an electronic telematics system – Timing 2025
- All trailer and domestic shipping container TRUs must meet US EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards for 25-50 horsepower engines – Timing 2025
- All truck TRUs must phase in 15% per year (over 7 years) of their fleet to zero-emission – Timing 2025
- Most of the proposed changes impact in use equipment and not just newly manufactured equipment.
Precedent S Series Engine
Thermo King's Precedent® S Series engine was developed to meet both CARB and EPA emissions compliance starting in 2013 and fulfills all of the newly proposed emissions concepts. This is important for users of TRUs to understand as TRUs placed in service and that are expected to operate in California in 2025, must meet the emissions requirements.
The Thermo King SmartPower™ option, which is available for every Thermo King Trailer TRU, enables future compliance with the proposed zero-emission operation when stationary.
Refrigerant Option
Since 2018, all Precedent TRUs have been fitted with telematics hardware, meeting the electronic telematics system proposal.
Thermo King offers a 452A refrigerant option today for Precedent MT units. This same option will be available for ST trailer units prior to 2022, and all straight truck TRUs by 2021.
