Wireless fuel sensors on highway trucks
How an appliance distributor in Ghana cut fuel costs on its long-haul trucks by 25–30% with battery-powered BLE fuel level sensors and route monitoring.
A national appliance distributor
The company distributes one of the world’s largest household appliance and electronics brands and runs several dozen stores across the country. Goods move between warehouses and shops on its own Dongfeng Chenglong H7 trucks — 6×4, 10.3 L diesel, 400/420 hp, 600-litre fuel tanks.
Detours, speeding and unexplained fuel use
Runs of 400–500 km cross deserted areas, tropical forest and savannah. Some drivers detoured for personal errands, then sped and drove aggressively to keep to schedule — burning fuel, wearing out components and risking the cargo and lives. Some trucks also showed unreasonably high consumption per trip; management suspected drains but couldn’t prove it.
They wanted live fuel volume in every tank, online route and speed monitoring, and refuelling/draining alerts to the fleet manager.
BLE fuel sensors and a telematics gateway
A DUT-E S7 wireless fuel level sensor measures the real level in the tank and sends it over Bluetooth (BLE 4.x) to a CANUp telematics gateway. No cables means fast installation without wiring errors, and the built-in battery runs the sensor for up to 5 years. Fuel level and refuelling volume can also be checked on a smartphone.
The gateway forwards route, speed, location and fuel data — level, volume, consumption, refuelling and draining events — to the telematics service, which builds route and fuel reports by day, month or any period.
Installation started in February 2021 with 20+ trucks. With no cables to lay and the gateways configured remotely, it was quick and didn’t disrupt deliveries. Fuel costs fell by 25–30%: less speeding and harsh acceleration or braking, no route deviations, lower mileage — and no more fuel theft by drivers. Calmer driving also means less wear, so repair and maintenance costs went down too.
Task → Solution → Result
Unprovable fuel losses
Long runs through remote areas, route deviations, aggressive driving and suspected drains.
Wireless DUT-E S7 + CANUp
Battery-powered BLE fuel sensors and a gateway sending fuel, route and speed data with drain alerts.
−25–30% fuel costs
Theft and detours ended, driving improved, and repair costs dropped.
At any time and any day of the week, we can easily monitor the route and speed of vehicles, as well as fuel level monitoring. Thanks to this data, we managed to significantly reduce fuel costs and have built a new motivation system for drivers.
CEO · Appliance distributor, Ghana
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