Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/301674
K eeping a landscape com- pany profitable is a huge undertaking that requires smart decision-making on all fronts. One area that is always of concern is finding ways to keep annual fuel costs in check. The biggest cost in that re- gard is the fuel used for moving crews and equipment from job- site to jobsite. Pickups and vans, especially when trailers are in-tow, are not the most fuel- efficient vehicles on the road. So utilizing smart routing, keeping vehicles well maintained and educating drivers how to drive with fuel savings in mind helps in cost reduction. But the best way to reduce fuel costs begins with those ve- hicles' engines – and choosing the best engine fuel system for the tasks at hand. That's where propane autogas, also known as LPG, comes into play. Today, more and more land- scapers are taking advantage of the benefits bi-fuel vehicles bring to the corporate table. Profitability and propane go hand in hand, says Tucker Per- kins, chief business development officer at the Propane Educa- tion & Research Council (PERC), which oversees the training, safety, research and develop- ment of LPG in the United States, including propane autogas. (Propane autogas is the term for propane used as vehicle fuel.) Some reading this may discount that idea right away thinking LPG is both inefficient and a hassle to use in landscape company's pickups or vans when compared to gas or diesel. While that line of thinking may have been somewhat ac- curate a dozen years ago, new engine technology, the growing abundance of U.S.-produced propane and a widespread ac- ceptance of alternative fuels has changed the mental landscape dramatically. Thermal energy From a purely comparative standpoint of thermal energy, British thermal unit (BTU), pro- pane makes about 15 percent less than unleaded E-10, 25 percent less than regular un- leaded gasoline and about 40 percent less than diesel. But that's thermal energy, and those numbers don't equate to fuel economy in today's fuel- injected/direct-injected engines, according to Perkins. Propane is more efficient in the combustion chamber than gasoline (or diesel) because it vaporizes completely. "We study propane autogas like crazy," Perkins says. "Gener- ally, we see a gaseous bi-fuel [propane autogas/gasoline] sys- tem delivering 10 to 15 percent less than gasoline fuel economy, while the more modern liquid direct-injection bi-fuel systems are within 4 to 5 percent of gasoline's mpg numbers." Perkins says that gap will narrow even further in the next of couple years as direct- injection systems become stan- dard in pickup and van engines. "I think it's comfortable to say that even at those great BTU differences, propane autogas technology will bring that ef- ficiency gap much closer to zero than 5 percent of gasoline's mpg numbers," Perkins says. M AY 2 014 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . c o m 5 3 ProPickup New technology has simplified autogas refueling during the years so it's an easy procedure, much like filling a conventional gas tank. PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PERC