HSN switches to electric cars - Significant financial and environmental benefits from switching
6th June 2024
The Healthcare Institution of North Iceland (HSN), the National Energy Authority and the Electric Vehicle Centre have been working on the analytical work on the agency’s fleet of vehicles for energy exchange and charging infrastructure development in the past year. The fleet of vehicles of HSN counts over 40 vehicles and services in North Iceland from Blönduós in the west to Þórshöfn in Langanes in the east.
Tachograph for all cars HSN
In 2023, the project began with the introduction of diagnostic equipment in all the agency’s vehicles for data collection, which is one of the first steps to gain an overview and be able to work effectively towards sustainability in the use of the fleet. Over one year, the vehicles collected real data with Geotab fleet management system, which is a vehicle unit that measures the driving of the vehicles and where they stay most. This gave a detailed and good overview of the usage patterns of the fleet and conclusions on where to build loading infrastructure based on the actual loading needs.
High financial and environmental benefits
From the first day of winter 2023 to the first day of summer 2024, Iceland was unusually cold, especially in the north. Despite the challenging winter conditions, the results of the data analysis showed clear financial and environmental benefits in the short and long term from the exchange. In addition, the results showed little to no disruption in operations when switching from petrol to electric cars and tens of millions of savings in direct costs of operating the vehicles. The data showed thus savings of 55%-76% in driving an electric car compared to a petrol car, although the kilometer fee for an electric car is included in the calculations, and there was also a significant benefit with lower emissions and other indirect costs that come with operating fossil fuel vehicles.
Future Fleet Management Agreement
As a result of this, the Electric Vehicle Centre and HSN have now signed an agreement under the title Float Management for the Future, which includes work on energy exchange, infrastructure development and targeted actions to promote eco-friendly driving. HSN now has a complete overview of the organization’s fleet of cars and the actual data collection from Geotab, together with experience, will ensure the best decision-making at any given time for a successful energy exchange. Emphasis will be placed on having a positive impact on driving factors that can reduce costs, including lower emissions and increase safety in traffic, but this is accompanied by, for example, high cost and environmental benefits just by reducing idling of vehicles within the fleet. Alongside the project, HSN has successfully replaced eight cars with electric cars.