Refueling

Filling a vehicle with natural gas is similar to putting air in a tire. 

Simply connect the fuel nozzle, flip the switch to begin fueling the vehicle and disconnect the nozzle when the car’s tank is full.

There are basically two types of fueling equipment – fast-fill and time-fill.  In fast-fill, the combination of a large compressor coupled with a high-pressure storage tank system fills the tank in about the same amount of time it takes to fuel a comparable gasoline or diesel vehicle.  A time-fill home refueling system does not have a storage system and has a much smaller (and less expensive) compressor.

Time filling for commercial fleets can be done with a larger compressor, and the vehicle fill rate for this type of system is determined by the compressor size and the number of vehicles connected to the system at any given time.

Compressed natural gas (CNG) can be purchased at public refueling stations.  At CNG stations, the gas is typically taken from the local gas utility’s line at low pressure, compressed and then stored in the vehicle’s storage tanks at high pressure.  CNG is currently available to the public at the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority’s station at 8th Avenue North and 31st Street in downtown Birmingham.

Or, CNG can be produced at home with a vehicle refueling appliance, such as the Phill by Fuelmaker.  The Phill unit compresses and feeds natural gas from your home’s natural gas line directly to your NGV.

Connected to standard residential natural gas, Phill can be installed inside a garage or outdoors. It provides automated time-fill CNG refueling at a rate of approximately 0.4 gasoline gallon equivalents per hour, appropriate for overnight refueling of commuter vehicles. Other vehicle refueling appliances provide up to one equivalent gallon per hour.

Source:  NGVAmerica and U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)