The increase of fuel prices skyrocketed, petrol and diesel especially, is pushing motorists to consider saving solutions such as the bifuel or dual fuel system. Powering a car with the LPG or the methane it means saving significantly when refueling at the pump.
Before making choices about which systems to install, you must carefully evaluate yours consumption: if you drive many kilometers a year, the fuel savings with a bi-fuel or dual fuel car will be greater. There is also the difference to be considered availability of gas distributors between methane or LPG, the latter being decidedly higher across the national territory, especially in the South compared to the North. First of all let's clarify things “bifuel” and “dual fuel” and then let's find out how much you save over 1,000 km with an LPG or methane system.
Difference between bifuel and dual fuel
The main difference between a car bifuel and dual fuel it lies in the type of engine and the way it is powered:
Bi-fuel car
- Motor: it can be petrol or diesel.
- Diet:the engine can run on petrol or an alternative gas (LPG or methane). The driver chooses the fuel to use via a button on the dashboard.
- Advantages:savings on fuel (the cost of LPG and methane is lower than that of petrol and diesel), lower polluting emissions (if gas is used), possibility of circulating in restricted traffic zones (with some limitations).
Dual fuel cars (diesel)
- Motor:Diesel.
- Diet:the dual fuel diesel engine works simultaneously with diesel and gas (methane). The mixture of the two fuels is automatically regulated by an electronic management system.
- Advantages:savings on fuel costs compared to bi-fuel cars (diesel is the cheapest fuel), lower emissions of pollutants.
- Disadvantages:More complex and expensive technology (compared to bi-fuel cars), there are still few models available on the market, and not all inspection centers are authorized to service these cars. It is not possible to travel in the restricted traffic zones of many cities whose municipalities do not facilitate this type of transformation.
How much you save with the LPG/methane (bi-fuel) system
With a bi-fuel car and current prices, the cost saving compared to petrol is approximately 54% with LPG he was born in 44% with methane. All things considered, to travel 100km, are needed approx 12.6 euros traveling on petrolwhile saving money 2.7 euros with diesel, 5.54 euros with methane And 6.8 euros with LPG.
How much you save with LPG and methane
The savings calculation was carried out using the average fuel prices in Piedmont to April 4, 2024. A driving car was considered in the estimate 15 km with one liter of petrol, 18 km/l diesel, 12.0 km/l LPG And 19 km/kg on methane.
To calculate the equivalences, the different units of measurement and the chemical-physical characteristics of the fuels were considered, with corrections based on the energy equivalence referring to the sales unit of measurement. For example, 1 liter of petrol is equivalent to 0.89 liters of diesel, 1.33 liters of LPG and 0.64 kg of methane.
Savings on 1,000 km on LPG and methane
| €/litre (€/kg for methane) |
Spending in €/1000 km | Savings vs petrol in €/100 km with LPG and CNG | % saving compared to petrol | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gas | 1.89 | 125.9 | ||
| Diesel | 1.79 | 99.4 | ||
| LPG | 0.69 | 57.8 | 68.1 | 54 |
| Methane | 1.34 | 70.6 | 55.3 | 44 |
Dual fuel diesel converted to LPG or METHANE, advantages
The dual fuel solution on diesel engines allows these engines to operate with a mix of diesel fuel and gas (methane, biomethane or LPG) via an electronic management system called mix the percentage of diesel and gas correctly.
The vehicles dual fuel DIESEL/LPG they use a mixture composed of 70% diesel and 30% LPG and allow fuel savings of 13%savings that rise to 29% for dual/fuel DIESEL/MEthane who travel with a mixture composed of 55% diesel and 45% methane. It must also be added that a bi-fuel diesel has better power and torque delivery. The greatest savings are achieved with the diesel/methane solution.
Savings with Diesel/LPG and Diesel/Methane (dual fuel)
| Spending in €/1,000 km | Savings vs diesel |
% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel | 99.4 | ||
| Diesel mix LPG | 86.9 | 1.25 | 13 |
| Diesel mix methane | 70.8 | 2.86 | 29 |
Among the Italian companies involved in the development of dual fuel engines is Holdim Groupactive in the automotive sector since 1990 which collaborates with Ecomotive Solutions, Cavagna Group, Autogas Italia, Bigas and Rail. These Italian companies are focusing on the development of alternative fuels and conversions for low environmental impact mobility.
Why it is better to switch to GLP or METHANE
Gaseous fuels such as LPG and the methane they certainly offer economic savings but also a reduction in polluting emissions, also allowing circulation where they exist blocks due to pollutionwith for example in Rome in ZTL Green Band where unfortunately dual fuel diesel/LPG and diesel/methane are not facilitated.
Read also:
→ LPG system how it works
→ Map of methane distributors
→ Inspection of LPG and methane car cylinders
→ News and updates on methane cars
→ What do you think? Drop by discussions on the FORUM!
The article How much you save with an LPG and methane system (bifuel and dual fuel) comes from newsauto.it.
#save #LPG #methane #system #bifuel #dual #fuel
