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A hybrid like the Prius runs on gasoline and gasoline is not a very green gas. LPG or liquid petroleum gas is greener than gasoline and plus LPG is cheaper than gasoline. Running a car on LPG cuts fuel costs by about one-third.
A hybrid car is great, but what would be even better is a hybrid car that runs on LPG. Can someone tell me whether a Prius can be converted to LPG or whether there are any hybrid LPG cars out there?
The Honda Civic GX runs on compressed natural gas. The biggest downside is the shortage of filling stations. Another disadvantage is that compressed natural gas is less energy dense than gasoline, so you have to fill up much more often. The GX is only available for sale in limited markets, NY and CA, or to fleet sales.
The upside is that the Civic GX is rated the greenest car in the US market right now.
I once read a report that someone in France did the conversion. However, knowing what I do about how the systems work, this would not be a trivial piece of engineering. You'd need a very smart injector system.
A few LPG Honda Civic owners has this installed at their home. Think it's $1-2K.
Plus about $0.40 per equivalent gallon of gasoline for electricity
(4 hours at 800 watts for 8 liters equivalent).
Plus about $0.50 per equivalent gallon of gasoline for capital depreciation of Phill
(6000 hours expected life - can be refurbished at an unpublished price 3 times - 2 hours of operation per equivalent gallon of gasoline.)
Now add the cost of the Natural gas and amortizing the vehicle conversion cost (about $2000 if available) of your vehicle and you can then determine if it actually saves money (at least it is greener and there are no road use taxes - for now).
Phill is for natural gas, not LPG. Phill costs somewhere around $5k
You shouldn't assume that we don't know the difference:
CNG - Compressed Natural Gas
LPG - Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane)
Either can be used with conversions in some vehicles. The conversion kits are similar, but the pressure tank for CNG is more expensive (CNG is a less expensive fuel, but there are compression costs as noted earlier).
Both are Greener fuels than gasoline.
As you noted Phill is a low-cost home compressor that accepts natural gas and compresses it into the storage tank of a converted vehicle.
If you want to use LPG, you install a large storage tank in (or near) your home and fill the smaller tank (in the trunk of the converted vehicle) from the stored propane (home delivery is generally available).
Converting a Prius to LPG
