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| NGV is the acronym for Natural Gas for Vehicles. People convert their vehicles to natural gas for reasons similar to auto propane. In many ways, the technologies are very similar but because the fuels are different, the components are different too. Natural does not liquefy easily and so must be stored as a gas at high pressures. On a mass basis, natural gas will have more energy than the same amount of propane and even more than gasoline. But because it is a gas and not a liquid, it is difficult to store the amount required to give a driving range comparable to gasoline. Natural Gas is typically stored at 2400 to 3600 psi in the automobile fuel tank and even a fairly large tank might only hold the equivalent of 3 or 4 gallons of gasoline. For modern 4-cylinder vehicles being used for commuting, a fill every day or every other day would be required depending upon the distance driven. Frequent stops at a filling station might be inconvenient for those commuters used to getting 600+ km from a tank of gasoline. Luckily, commuters in large urban centers can find refueling stations quite frequently. Unfortunately, these refueling station are not plentiful enough to cause price competition and consumers end up paying too much for their fuel. The other option is to install a Vehicle Refueling Appliance (VRA) in their home. FuelMaker is one manufacturer of VRAs and they are almost ready to release a residential VRA they call Phill. Their commercial VRA is their only product available for residential installations. With the VRA, the commuter simply plugs his car into the natural gas compressor to have it filled overnight, ready for the next day's commute. Additional range could be easily added which the obvious loss of trunk capacity. Commuters would likely not miss their trunks very much if they had another general purpose car. To avoid a major loss of luggage storage capacity, natural gas vehicles are most commonly dual fuelled. When the natural gas is completely consumed, the car is easily switched back to gasoline operation. This is best option for most people and maximizes the payback of the conversion. More storage capacity merely reduces the inconvenience factor. |
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