| For industrial and commercial applications, the cost of fuel
typically exceeds the initial cost of the engine by a large
factor. For example, a 3% reduction in fuel
consumption for a 500 hp industrial diesel operating at rated
power and 8,000 hours per year represents over $7,500
in annual savings (due to much higher fuel cost in Europe, the
pay off will be even faster).
The above does not include reduction in maintenance cost,
mainly because it varies among applications and is very difficult
to estimate. Due to the inherent interconnection between emissions,
fuel economy, and maintenance, the RLE advantages will become
even more significant as heavy-duty engine exhaust emission
regulations continue to stiffen.
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