VT Specialized Vehicles, a company of Vision Technologies Systems, has introduced UltraTemp — an advanced hybrid system for refrigerated distribution that the company says combines the benefits of both cold plate and mechanical refrigeration. UltraTemp delivers the low operating costs, high reliability and long life expectations associated with cold plates, while offering unlimited route capability, automatic defrost and lower weight advantages of a mechanical refrigeration system, according to VT SVC.
In the heart of the UltraTemp design is Azure Dynamics Corp.’s Low Emission Electric Power (LEEP) hybrid system — a system designed to delivers significant improvements in fuel utilization and emission levels. UltraTemp says this eliminates more than 90 percent of the fuel consumption and emissions of a mechanical system.
The company says UltraTemp can be added to any chassis with a powertrain that is power take-off ready and also can support multitemperature units. It uses the vehicle’s powertrain, instead of a separate diesel engine, to generate clean power that is stored in the refrigeration system; this energy then can be used to maintain the cargo area temperature long after the engine has been shut down. UltraTemp also is designed with a high over-the-road capacity that provides vehicles with unlimited route capability.
UltraTemp requires little power from the vehicle and can be plugged into either single or three-phase electrical power sources for overnight recharging; VT SVC says this allows for 24/7 product protection without the issues of traditional motors, engines or generators and their associated costs, fuel consumption, emissions and noise concerns. There are few components and no belts to the system, thus minimizing maintenance and repair costs while extending the unit’s life expectations.
UltraTemp has a hot gas defrost system designed to automatically expel defrost condensate, while minimizing ice buildup and time loss as compared to the manual defrosting process associated with cold plates. According to the company, the elimination of ice buildup and the system’s over-the-road refrigeration ability, which enables the use of smaller cold plates, help to significantly lower the vehicle’s overall weight.
For more information, go to www.vtsvc.com.
