New to CNG

[cngvirgin]

I am interested in buying a CNG Civic GX. I currently live in Illinois but will be relocating to Houston, TX in May/June. I have just recently started looking into CNG for future options for a car purchase next summer. I have so many questions but I'll start with these:
1)Does Texas offer tax rebates/exemptions for CNG vehicles?
2)Does Texas offer HOV lane privileges for CNG vehicles?

Here's a big one:
3)Are there special technical requirements for installation of a PHILL station that would prohibit me from installing it myself? Before you answer, consider that I used to be a home builder and I have completely replaced entire electrical and gas systems in homes before.

4)What would the average price be for a gallon of CNG in the Texas area for home service through a PHILL station? What about a regular filling station?
5)Is it cheaper to use a PHILL at home or use a commercial station?

If any of these questions sound ignorant, THEY ARE!!! I am completely new to this but I cannot stand to watch Americans send billions of dollars to countries that hate us. I want to do something about it and consume AMERICAN energy, not just for savings but for the future of OUR children!!!

[Curtis]

Re: New to CNG

I am interested in buying a CNG Civic GX. I currently live in Illinois but will be relocating to Houston, TX in May/June. I have just recently started looking into CNG for future options for a car purchase next summer. I have so many questions but I'll start with these:
1)Does Texas offer tax rebates/exemptions for CNG vehicles?
2)Does Texas offer HOV lane privileges for CNG vehicles?

Here's a big one:
3)Are there special technical requirements for installation of a PHILL station that would prohibit me from installing it myself? Before you answer, consider that I used to be a home builder and I have completely replaced entire electrical and gas systems in homes before.

4)What would the average price be for a gallon of CNG in the Texas area for home service through a PHILL station? What about a regular filling station?
5)Is it cheaper to use a PHILL at home or use a commercial station?

If any of these questions sound ignorant, THEY ARE!!! I am completely new to this but I cannot stand to watch Americans send billions of dollars to countries that hate us. I want to do something about it and consume AMERICAN energy, not just for savings but for the future of OUR children!!!

Welcome to the group! We all asked the same type of questions when we began here. Just remember the old addage... the only dumb question is the one unasked. I would recommend spending some time reading through the forums that address your area's of interest, ie: home refueling, incentives, etc. We found that most everyone has the same general questions, so these forums contain FAQ's, links and user info that will answer a lot of your questions. I'll try and address them appropriately.
So, here goes;
1) http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/prog...summary.php/TX
2) See #1
3) You could be a rocket scientist and FuelMaker won't send the Phill to you. There is no DIY home install. They only send to, and allow their own trained people to install. We know... read the Phill threads and you'll understand. http://cngchat.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20
4) The only way to answer this is to find a cngchat member in Houston, using the same gas co you'll eventually have and using a Phill. You can go to cngprices.com to see public infrastructure, and you can go to the appropriate gas co's website to see their rate tarriffs. Some gas co's discount for home refueling, but not all.
5) To determine the approximate price of home refueling use this little trick. Take the price of a therm and multiply by 1.25 to get the cost of 1 gge (gasoline gallon equivelent). The actual number will vary depending on the btu rating of the gas in that area, is could be 1.21, 1.26, etc. Your gas co can tell you that.

Now all we need is one of our Houston members to chime in with a few specifics.