CNG Vehicle Information
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. To view more information about the Honda Civic visit:
http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-gx/
Source: www.Greencar.com
Other Resources
CNG Brochure
PHILL Brochure
CNG
PowerPoint
Visit these
websites for more information on CNG vehicles
http://www.ngvamerica.org/
http://www.naturalfuelssolutions.com/
http://www.cleanskies.org/
www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/vehicles/natural_gas.html
http://www.cngnow.com/
http://www.cleanenergyfuels.com/
www.cngchat.com
www.alternativefuels.about.com/od/naturalgaspropane/ig/CNG-refueling-procedure/n
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