WTOL.com, Toledo's News Leader, News 11 | EcoTrack 11: Solar panels help Ohio State Highway Patrol get green
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Reported by Chris Vickers email
Posted by Kate Oatis email
(WTOL) - In an effort to be more energy efficient, the Ohio State Highway Patrol is using solar power as an energy-saving solution.
Indeed, the Highway Patrol is looking to solar panels to help make its fleet of vehicles green.
"What the division is doing, they are starting equipping almost 1,200 enforcement vehicles with 5-watt solar panels," said Lieutenant John Altman.
The panel, installed on the rear deck of the cruiser, has direct wiring to the vehicle's battery, adding an extra charge.
"The idea behind the process is to utilize, obviously the sun's light to help trickle charge our batteries in an attempt to reduce our fuel consumption and also preserve the life of our batteries," Altman said.
To conserve fuel, stationary patrols have become more popular.
"The problem we've incurred in today's state of the art patrol vehicle is when you turn the engine off you got a laptop, you've got radios that pull more power. So then what ends up happening is, the battery is dead."
Dead batteries can be critical in an emergency response situation.
"I have to say myself, we're surprised. You don't hear patrol car, enforcement vehicle and solar panel. Generally, that technology hasn't been something utilized in this environment," Altman said.
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