5 NATURAL GAS CAR FACTS
What's the Status of Natural Gas Vehicles?
In years past, a number of auto manufacturers offered cars and light trucks that could operate on compressed natural gas (CNG). All automakers except Honda have left this market in the U.S., although companies like BAF Technologies do modify select existing models to run on gaseous fuels. This lack of CNG vehicles should change for the better since natural gas has so much going for it, especially in this age of rising gasoline and diesel prices and a growing dependence on imported oil. Natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels, it's found in abundance in the U.S., and it's also significantly less expensive than gasoline.
Safe and Reliable
CNG is actually a safer fuel than gasoline. After all, natural gas is used in virtually every home. Unlike gasoline that can pool on the ground in the event of an accident or leak, CNG dissipates harmlessly into the air. With a very narrow range of flammability to be combustible and nearly twice the ignition temperature of gasoline, it's also less likely to cause a fire. Because natural gas is such a clean burning fuel, carbon deposits in an engine are nil, reducing cylinder and ring wear so engine life can be much greater than when running on gasoline. Oil change and tune up intervals can also be extended.
Natural Gas is Growing in Popularity
Natural gas vehicles are growing in popularity. This has been driven in recent years by the medium- to-heavy duty market. Natural gas is now widely used in transit buses, school buses, refuse trucks, package delivery trucks, and vehicles used in ports. One thing these all have in common is that they can be refueled at a central location. This is not the case with cars and light trucks that travel where natural gas might be difficult to find. This could have contributed to the lack of interest in natural gas vehicles by general consumers in the past. In recent years, companies like Clean Energy have successfully driven natural gas vehicle use by building fueling stations and supplying natural gas under multi-year contracts to fleets at costs significantly less than the per-gallon cost of gasoline or diesel. Fleet use should lead to greater consumer use in the future.
Convenient At-Home Refueling
At present there are about 800 natural gas stations available nationwide, compared to 175,000 stations dispensing gasoline. Refueling at a fast-fill CNG station takes no longer than tanking up with gasoline. As the fueling infrastructure builds for CNG, the inconvenience of limited public fueling opportunities is softened by the availability of filling up at home. That's because Honda offers the Phill home refueling appliance, which was developed in conjunction with its Canadian technology partner Fuelmaker and is now manufactured by that company. Phill can be installed in a garage or outside a home to allow refueling using a home's natural gas supply. The refueling appliance does require as much as 16 hours to fill an almost empty tank, although it's likely that a natural gas vehicle refueled at home will rarely have an empty tank, and an overnight top-off will usually be sufficient for the daily commute. In many cases, vehicles fueled up at favorable natural gas home rates can operate as cheaply as the equivalent of $1.25 to $1.50 per gallon.
Honda's Civic GX
Unlike bi-fuel vehicles previously offered by other automakers that could run alternatively on natural gas or gasoline, Honda's "dedicated" natural gas Civic GX - the industry's cleanest internal combustion production vehicle - has an engine that's optimized to run only on this alternative fuel. The Civic GX comes only as a four door sedan that looks identical to gasoline Civics. Its 113 horsepower four-cylinder engine produces about 27 hp less than the standard Civic engine but you really can't feel the difference during normal driving. The equivalent of 8 gallons of natural gas fuel is stored in a 3600 psi pressurized fuel cylinder located at the forward part of the trunk. This tank, which is hidden behind a carpeted liner, does consume some trunk space but leaves quite adequate room for carrying groceries, gear, and luggage. The Civic GX has an EPA estimated 24 mpg city/36 mpg highway fuel rating, about the same as the gasoline Civic. Its real-world driving range is approximately 200 miles between fill-ups. At $25,225, the GX costs about $7,000 more than the gasoline powered LX model but presently qualifies for substantial federal tax credits and other incentives. At this time in California you can even obtain a decal that allows driving a Civic GX in HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle, or "carpool") lanes even with only one person in the car. This is the same benefit enjoyed by qualified hybrid cars that were issued decals in the state, although no new hybrid decals are available since the maximum allocation of hybrid HOV decals has been reached.
In years past, a number of auto manufacturers offered cars and light trucks that could operate on compressed natural gas (CNG). All automakers except Honda have left this market in the U.S., although companies like BAF Technologies do modify select existing models to run on gaseous fuels. This lack of CNG vehicles should change for the better since natural gas has so much going for it, especially in this age of rising gasoline and diesel prices and a growing dependence on imported oil. Natural gas is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels, it's found in abundance in the U.S., and it's also significantly less expensive than gasoline.
Safe and Reliable
CNG is actually a safer fuel than gasoline. After all, natural gas is used in virtually every home. Unlike gasoline that can pool on the ground in the event of an accident or leak, CNG dissipates harmlessly into the air. With a very narrow range of flammability to be combustible and nearly twice the ignition temperature of gasoline, it's also less likely to cause a fire. Because natural gas is such a clean burning fuel, carbon deposits in an engine are nil, reducing cylinder and ring wear so engine life can be much greater than when running on gasoline. Oil change and tune up intervals can also be extended.
Natural Gas is Growing in Popularity
Natural gas vehicles are growing in popularity. This has been driven in recent years by the medium- to-heavy duty market. Natural gas is now widely used in transit buses, school buses, refuse trucks, package delivery trucks, and vehicles used in ports. One thing these all have in common is that they can be refueled at a central location. This is not the case with cars and light trucks that travel where natural gas might be difficult to find. This could have contributed to the lack of interest in natural gas vehicles by general consumers in the past. In recent years, companies like Clean Energy have successfully driven natural gas vehicle use by building fueling stations and supplying natural gas under multi-year contracts to fleets at costs significantly less than the per-gallon cost of gasoline or diesel. Fleet use should lead to greater consumer use in the future.
Convenient At-Home Refueling
At present there are about 800 natural gas stations available nationwide, compared to 175,000 stations dispensing gasoline. Refueling at a fast-fill CNG station takes no longer than tanking up with gasoline. As the fueling infrastructure builds for CNG, the inconvenience of limited public fueling opportunities is softened by the availability of filling up at home. That's because Honda offers the Phill home refueling appliance, which was developed in conjunction with its Canadian technology partner Fuelmaker and is now manufactured by that company. Phill can be installed in a garage or outside a home to allow refueling using a home's natural gas supply. The refueling appliance does require as much as 16 hours to fill an almost empty tank, although it's likely that a natural gas vehicle refueled at home will rarely have an empty tank, and an overnight top-off will usually be sufficient for the daily commute. In many cases, vehicles fueled up at favorable natural gas home rates can operate as cheaply as the equivalent of $1.25 to $1.50 per gallon.
Honda's Civic GX
Unlike bi-fuel vehicles previously offered by other automakers that could run alternatively on natural gas or gasoline, Honda's "dedicated" natural gas Civic GX - the industry's cleanest internal combustion production vehicle - has an engine that's optimized to run only on this alternative fuel. The Civic GX comes only as a four door sedan that looks identical to gasoline Civics. Its 113 horsepower four-cylinder engine produces about 27 hp less than the standard Civic engine but you really can't feel the difference during normal driving. The equivalent of 8 gallons of natural gas fuel is stored in a 3600 psi pressurized fuel cylinder located at the forward part of the trunk. This tank, which is hidden behind a carpeted liner, does consume some trunk space but leaves quite adequate room for carrying groceries, gear, and luggage. The Civic GX has an EPA estimated 24 mpg city/36 mpg highway fuel rating, about the same as the gasoline Civic. Its real-world driving range is approximately 200 miles between fill-ups. At $25,225, the GX costs about $7,000 more than the gasoline powered LX model but presently qualifies for substantial federal tax credits and other incentives. At this time in California you can even obtain a decal that allows driving a Civic GX in HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle, or "carpool") lanes even with only one person in the car. This is the same benefit enjoyed by qualified hybrid cars that were issued decals in the state, although no new hybrid decals are available since the maximum allocation of hybrid HOV decals has been reached.
Views: 76
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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The tend to be lower here Skip. Centerpoint buys gas ahead of time, so I think now we are paying to much because their contracts are from when gas was higher.
At T. Boones meeteing, It was said one mcf = 8 gallons. I do not know the accuracy of that statement.
But assuming its close. At last months residential rate of $11.33, that is about $1.42 a gallon. Not bad, about $0.20/gal cheaper than the last tank of gas I bought yesterday. At $4 gas it would sound alot better.
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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Of course If the arabs cut us off again like in the 1970's, you will still be able to get nat. gas.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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And as T. Boone says, $4 gasoline is in our not too distant future. The relative cost makes for an interesting discussion. But infrastructure and the desire of citizens to invest in CNG vehicles (converted or new) seem to be the unknown variables at this point in time.
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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on
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I have no doubt gasoline will go up. The only question is when? and how fast?
But the reality is, people don't switch unless their is a short term gain. We need a govenment response now. -
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Permalink Reply by intrepid on -
It shouldn't be any different than having a gas grill on the patio. Maybe even safer as it's a sealed transfer.
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Permalink Reply by sesport on
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Here's the Honda GX model.
http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx/
Also, if I can find it again, Tesla has a commercial pump available. If I remember correctly, they cover markets mostly in Asia & Middle East. I think our distributors, Murphy Oil, Circle K's, would be wise to start researching what they need to do to install at least one pump per station.
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Permalink Reply by TEXWS6 on
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TB,
You are right, just multiply your gas price by .125 or 1/8 and you should get your GGE (gallon of gas equivalent) price to fill up. This doesn't include the electricity to power the fuel maker.
Kelly
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Permalink Reply by jim neely on
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low economics for cng except for centrally dispatched fleets and then only works with state and federal welfare . $ 7000 for the car up-fit , $1 mil for station compressor and then road tax ( otherwise no roads ) . never gonna happen . the most logical process for transport fuel is gas to liquid which results in jet a , no sulphur diesel and other middle distillates that sell for a premium . several plants underway around the world . the first us plant buildt in brownsville tx in 50's . after a little reading i think you lose about 20% of the btu's to fuel the process . seems very economical on a clean btu basis . existing infrastucture in place relative to cng or ethanol . i hope some of our members can add to the gtl story .
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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on
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jim. Economics change in the blink of an eye these days. National energy independence has great value IMO. CNG for private autos can be a reality now for those of us who do mostly short distance travel. A home filling unit is not cheap but affordable enough for some now. And with greater demand and production increases in home filling units, the cost should decline. Increased demand = lower price. With all due respect, I think it can happen. And will happen if citizens demand it. And support it. Once sufficient numbers of private vehicles operate on CNG, then public fueling stations will become viable. It's a chicken or egg question. In this case I think the private CNG autos come first and then the fueling stations follow. A small number at first. And then more as demand rises.
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