Testing of hybrid construction vehicles finds a reduction in
fuel consumption, but an increase in harmful emissions
Hybrid technology is not necessarily greener when it comes
to comparing the latest hybrid and diesel construction equipment.
That’s the main finding of a first-of-its-kind study of
hybrid diesel construction equipment by researchers at the University of
California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering Center for Environmental
Research and Technology (CE-CERT).
Manufacturers reported the hybrid dozers and excavators
reduced fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent and cut
smog-forming oxides of nitrogen emissions (NOx) by 30 percent. But, UC
Riverside researchers found fuel savings of between 7 percent and 28 percent
and NOx emission increases of up to 21 percent when compared to conventional
diesel equipment.