What Idling Really Costs a Canadian Truck
Idling can cost a long-haul truck more than $14,000 in diesel a year at this fall's prices. For a 10-truck fleet, that is close to $150,000 spent while the wheels aren't turning.
Diesel in Canada hit a record this fall, so every litre burned while parked matters more than it used to. Below, we use Natural Resources Canada figures to show what idling really costs, and how a battery-powered no-idle A/C removes that cost.
How much diesel does idling burn?
An idling truck engine burns about 3 litres of diesel an hour, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). That sounds small until you count the hours.
NRCan estimates the average long-haul truck idles about 1,800 hours a year, burning roughly 5,600 litres of fuel. Most of that is overnight in the sleeper, running the engine just to power the air conditioning or heat.
A driver who idles 8 hours a night burns about 24 litres before breakfast, without moving a kilometre.
What that costs at this fall's diesel prices
Based on the assumptions in this example, a Canadian long-haul truck could spend approximately $14,800 annually on fuel consumed while idling.
This represents an estimated annual idling fuel cost, not a guaranteed fuel saving. Actual savings vary by vehicle, fuel prices, operating conditions, and how many idling hours can realistically be eliminated. Not all idling can be replaced by an auxiliary climate control system. The national average retail price of diesel topped $2.64 per litre in the week ending September 29, 2026, according to NRCan figures reported on Yahoo Finance. That was 15% above the previous record, set in November 2022. (Kalibrate's daily data had the national average as high as $2.75 on September 17.)
Diesel price | Average long-haul truck (1,800 h, 5,600 L a year) | 8 h a night, every night (2,920 h, 8,760 L a year) |
$2.00/L | $11,200 | $17,520 |
$2.30/L | $12,880 | $20,148 |
$2.64/L (Sept. 2026 record) | $14,784 | $23,126 |
Annual fuel cost of idling per truck. The average column uses NRCan's estimate of 5,600 litres a year; the nightly column uses its rate of about 3 litres an hour. Both are rounded NRCan figures, so they don't multiply out exactly.
B.C. fleets pay more. Petro-Canada's wholesale (rack) price on November 2, 2026 was 201.5¢/L in Toronto and 235.0¢/L in Vancouver, according to Rock to Road, before pump margins and taxes.
The costs beyond fuel
Fuel is the biggest idling cost, but not the only one. Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada, told The Canadian Press that fuel may now be a fleet's top expense, ahead even of wages (source).
Maintenance: NRCan notes that shutting the engine off when stopped lowers maintenance costs as well as fuel use.
Engine hours: 1,800 hours of idling a year is 1,800 hours on the engine with no kilometres to show for it, bringing service intervals and overhauls closer.
Driver rest: an idling engine is noisy and vibrates through the bunk, which makes it harder to sleep.
Many cities cap idling time
In many Canadian cities, idling for hours to stay cool isn't just expensive, it's against the bylaw. Two Ontario examples:
Even on Ottawa's hottest days, that's 10 minutes an hour, not a night of air conditioning. Rules vary by municipality, so check the bylaws where your drivers stop.
How a no-idle A/C cuts the cost
A battery-powered air conditioner cools the cab with the engine off, so parked hours spent cooling no longer burn diesel. A diesel auxiliary power unit (APU) helps, but NRCan says APUs still burn about 25% of the fuel an idling engine uses. For the average truck above, that's about 1,400 litres a year, or roughly $3,700 at $2.64/L.
The Fresco 9000 MaXX runs on its own battery bank instead of the engine:
9,000 BTU in max mode, then cycles at 7,500 BTU once the cab reaches your set temperature
Power draw: up to 50 A at 12 V in max mode, for 8–12 hours of engine-off cooling on a 300 Ah Volthium lithium bank (one 300 Ah battery or two 150 Ah). Runtime varies with outside temperature, sun, cab insulation and set temperature.
Re-install kit: moves the unit to your next truck when the fleet trades up
Fits any make or model, sleeper or day cab
In winter, NRCan notes that a diesel-fired bunk heater uses only about 5% of the fuel an idling engine burns, so the same engine-off approach works year-round.
Run your own numbers
Your trucks aren't average, so put in your own figures. The fuel savings estimator on our Fresco 9000 MaXX page asks three questions:
How many hours a day your trucks idle while parked
How many days a year they run
What you're paying for diesel per litre
It shows the fuel you're burning while idling, the cost per truck per year, and the engine hours you could avoid. It uses NRCan's average of 3 litres an hour.
Ready to stop paying to idle? Find a Fresco dealer and installer near you, or contact us for a fleet quote.
Sources
Natural Resources Canada, Tips for better driving and equipment: idle fuel burn, annual idling hours, APU and heater fuel use
Yahoo Finance, Diesel tops $2.75/litre in Canada (October 12, 2026): NRCan and Kalibrate national average prices, PMTC comments (via The Canadian Press)
Rock to Road, Here's how much diesel costs across Canada (November 2, 2026): Petro-Canada rack prices
City of Toronto, Idling Control By-law
City of Ottawa, Idling Control By-law No. 2024-437
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