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The rules governing who can and cannot venture into the London LEZ without paying a financial penalty are about to get a whole lot tougher
Words: Steve Banner From 3 January 2012 all diesel-powered trucks entering the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) will have to comply with the Euro-4 exhaust emissions limits so far as particulates are concerned.
If they don’t, then the owners will ind themselves liable to a £200 daily charge, with ines of up to £1,000 in store for those who fail to cough up. Fixed and mobile cameras will be busy reading number plates.
Diesel goods vehicles grossing at above 3.5 tonnes and registered as new on or after 1 October 2006 are deemed to be capable of meeting the new regulations, says Transport for London (TfL). Those registered prior to that date may not be, and it is worth visiting the TfL website – www.tfL gov.uk – to double-check which category your vehicles fall into.
There are two ways of achieving compliance. Either sell your non-compliant vehicles and buy Euro-4 or Euro-5 trucks instead, or equip them with particulate ilters to bring them into scope.
What are the options?
New Euro-5 trucks are not exactly cheap and the prices of used Euro-4 models are starting to rise steeply as the days between now and the January deadline tick away. Availability is becoming an issue too say dealers, especially so far as late-registered examples are concerned.
For many operators the only route to complying with the rules will be to get a ilter itted. Unfortunately, that is not a cheap option either.
You are likely to ind you are paying anywhere from £3,000 to £6,000 plus labour, and installation is likely to involve taking the truck off the road for up to a day.
Nor will just any old ilter made by any old manufacturer do. Usually carrying a two-year warranty, it has to comply with TfL’s requirements and you will ind a list of approved suppliers on its website.
Nor is it always possible for a manufacturer simply to pull a ilter off the shelf. “We don’t hold ilters in stock,” says Eminox marketing manager Kathye-Ann Henderson. “We make them to order, so you can be talking about a lead time of four to ive weeks.”
Missing the deadline
With other ilter makers adopting the same approach, and demand set to rise, any operator who leaves it until November/December to act may ind that the required ilter cannot be installed until after the January deadline.
Fitting can be carried out at a ilter maker’s installation centre – Dinex says that its DiSic ilter cuts the replacement time by up to eight or 10 hours by providing a direct replacement for the existing silencer – by its mobile technicians, or at a truck dealership. The operator’s own technicians can undertake the task too if they have been appropriately trained, although not all companies are willing to supply ilters for self-installation.
Once the installation is completed, then it has to be certiied as being LEZ-compliant by an examiner authorised by VOSA – who may be one of the technicians at the itting centre – who has conducted a smoke test to ensure it is working properly. Assuming everything is OK, a declaration of conformity to be given to VOSA is produced. In exchange, it will issue a Low Emission Certiicate – some trucks will qualify for a Reduced Pollution Certiicate – and notify TfL accordingly.
VOSA testing stations can also carry out such tests. “No matter who conducts the test, however, it may be up to 10 working days before TfL’s system recognises that the truck conforms and that the owner is not liable to a daily charge,” Henderson warns.
There are two basic types of ilter: one that has its own built-in catalyst and one that requires a catalytic additive – a fuel-borne catalyst – in order to function. The latter type is reckoned to be more suitable for urban duty cycles where the exhaust system does not get hot enough to allow the ilter to regenerate.
Use an additive, and a typical dosing rate is likely to be a litre for every 2,200 to 3,000 litres of diesel burned. As the additive contains a variety of precious metals, it may cost as much as £50 for each litre used.
Conscious of the cost, and the need to equip trucks with additive dosing systems, some irms – Cawdell Group, for example – have developed additive-free iltration systems that they say are suitable for city centre work.
A particulate ilter will need an annual clean – ignoring this requirement will cause it to become less-eficient and can do serious damage – and it needs to be done professionally; not by blowing the detritus out with an air hose. Expect to pay £200 or more, with some ilter makers offering cleansing on a service exchange basis.
Castrol says that ilters will not need quite so much cleaning if the operator is able to use a low SAPS engine oil, so-called because it is low in sulphated ash, phosphorus and sulphur. They can all cause a ilter to clog up.
Operators entering the LEZ who also happen to be on Continental work should check if any of the areas they deliver to require them to comply with local emissions laws and if the LEZ ilter they propose to install meets these requirements too. Dinex is among those companies that contend that its products can meet all other European LEZ regulations, as well as offering savings on the Maut (the road-user charge levied on trucks in Germany).
No matter which supplier you pick, you need to take action now. “Leaving it until the last minute would not be a good idea,” observes Henderson.
Bob Cawdell of Cawdell Group adds: “There is no indication that TfL has any intention of postponing the introduction date.”
If you run vans, then do not forget that they will be affected by changes that come into force next January too. Light commercials weighing from 1.205 tonnes unladen to 3.5 tonnes gross will only have to meet the Euro-3 particulate standard however – and if they were registered as new on or after 1 January 2002, then they should comply. ■