COMPARING NATURAL GAS TO DIESEL – ENERGY CONTENT What You Need to Know

COMPARING NATURAL GAS TO DIESEL BASED

EQUIVALENT ENERGY ENERGY CONTENT To understand and compare natural gas and diesel, you To determine how much natural gas is needed to match need to measure by diesel litre equivalent (DLE), which the energy provided by a certain amount of diesel, energy is the amount of natural gas it takes to have the same content must be considered. A unit that is often used to energy content as a litre of diesel. Natural gas has its own describe energy is the British thermal unit (BTU). A BTU is commonly used measurement units. The equivalent energy the amount of energy needed to increase the temperature for each of these units in diesel litre equivalent (DLE) is of a pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit. To compare as follows: natural gas and diesel on an energy equivalent basis, both fuels can be described using their BTU values: Natural gas Diesel Litre Equivalent 1 GJ of natural gas = 947,950 BTU 1 GJ 27.7 litres of diesel 1 kg of natural gas = 50,020 BTU 1 kg* 1.462 litres of diesel 1 m3 of natural gas = 35,300 BTU 1 m3 1.032 litres of diesel 1 ft3 of natural gas = 1,000 BTU 1 ft3 .0292 litres of diesel 1 litre of diesel = 34,210 BTU * Measurement Canada requires pricing in cents per kilogram for natural gas sold at public stations

This product is made possible by a financial contribution from Natural Resources Canada. CONVERSION FACTORS – ENGINE EFFICIENCY EQUIVALENCY BASED ON ENERGY CONTENT

DIESEL 1 kilogram of = 1.417 cubic metres of natural gas natural gas = 1.462 litres of diesel NGV VS 1 cubic metre of = 0.706 kilograms of natural gas natural gas = 1.032 litres of diesel

= 0.684 kilograms of natural gas 1 litre of diesel = 0.969 cubic metres of natural gas Natural gas and comparably-sized diesel engines may have different efficiencies. This potential difference should be considered and incorporated into fuel savings calculations. For example, the Cummins Westport 9 litre and 12 litre FUEL SAVINGS natural gas engines use about 12 per cent more natural gas than comparably-sized diesel engines. The $0.40/DLE fuel savings example shown below must be reduced by the cost of using 12 per cent more fuel to account for the engine 0.40 efficiency difference.

CALCULATORS

Fuel cost savings with natural gas are calculated on an energy equivalent basis.

The fuel cost savings with natural gas are always expressed based on the equivalent amount of energy. For example, if the cost of diesel is $1.15 per litre and the cost of natural gas on an equivalent energy basis is $0.75 per DLE, the fuel savings are $0.40 per DLE.

FUEL SAVINGS EXAMPLE

Fuel Pricing

Diesel $1.15 per litre To convert annual fuel consumption from diesel litres to $0.75 per diesel litre a natural gas unit, click on the previous link and use the Natural Gas equivalent calculator on the Go With Natural Gas website.

Savings $0.40 per litre To calculate fuel consumption for natural gas based on the type of engine technology, click on the previous link and These are illustrative costs and are subject to regional use the calculator on the Go With Natural Gas website. price differences. Consult your local fuel provider for actual prices.

GoWithNaturalGas.ca November 2014