Scientists tested whether it is possible to reduce fuel use and CO2 emissions through onboard computer settings.
The study was carried out at three thinning sites in central Finland. Three Ponsse wheeled harvesters (Beaver, Scorpion King and Ergo) were studied under normal production conditions. Stem sizes varied between 0.14 and 0.23 m3. The machines were prepared with pre-selected settings defined individually for each machine, as follows:
- Business as usual (BAU): the settings which would normally be used. The setting is adjusted by the operators for the given machine and conditions and typically optimised for operator skills and preferences to obtain highest productivity.
- Economy mode (ECO): the setting aimed at the lowest fuel consumption in litres per harvested m3.
- Production mode (POWER): the setting aimed at highest productivity.
The same operator was used with all settings to help prevent operator differences from affecting the results. The results showed large differences between machines and settings. Fuel consumption ranged from 1.02 to 1.48 litres per m3. The lowest average fuel consumption was in ECO mode at 1.16 litres per m3. BAU was 1 % above this and POWER mode was 17 % above the BAU mode. Switching from BAU to ECO mode resulted in productivity losses for the Beaver and Ergo but not for the Scorpion King. Switching from BAU to POWER mode resulted in productivity losses for the Beaver and Scorpion King, but increased the productivity of the Ergo.
Stem size has the strongest and most significant effect on fuel consumption, but machine setting also had a significant effect. The POWER setting achieves its goal of higher production, but it achieved at the expense of fuel consumption and therefore only be used when actually required – for example when handling large trees. The largest harvester, the Ergo, also achieved productivity gains in optimally sizes trees, but the increased productivity if offset by the increased fuel use. Subjective feedback from all operators at the conclusion of the studies indicated that the ECO setting enabled them to carry out their work with no adverse effect on the operating technique and behaviour. The fuel savings from the ECO settings seem to be derived from cutting consumption for fixed work elements and was not dependant on stem size.
The research was published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 179, 2018. The researchers were R Prinz, R Spinelli, N Magagnotti, J Routa and A Asikainen. Source