20 • OIL
&
ENERGY
Q&A: PERC’s Michael Taylor
PERC Works to Grow Autogas Market
Vehicle manufacturers are getting
involved, and fleet owners are
embracing the low-priced
alternative fuel
PROPANE AUTOGAS IS THE THIRD MOST
widely used vehicle fuel in the world, but
the U.S. lags behind other
aggressive adopters, such
as Australia, Poland and
South Korea. The Propane
Education & Research
Council (PERC) is working
to popularize autogas and
eliminate obstacles to its adoption.
Oil &
Energy
recently reached out to Michael
Taylor, PERC’s Director of Autogas Business
Development, to discuss the autogas market
and PERC’s effort to grow it.
Oil & Energy: How many vehicles in the U.S.
currently use autogas? How many autogas
vehicles are being added per year?
Michael Taylor:
Unfortunately, accurate
autogas vehicle population data has not
been maintained. PERC is working to
change that. The current autogas popula-
tion is about 200,000.
In 2012, approximately 9,000 dedicated
and after-market bi-fuel conversions were
added. We anticipate that number will
increase to 14,000 or more in 2013 and that
the autogas population will continue to
experience annual growth of 50 percent or
more in the foreseeable future.
O&E: How would you rate public
awareness of autogas and consumer
attitudes towards the fuel?
MT:
awareness is increasing, but
we are not where we should be as a nation.
The average citizen does not realize the
environmental, economic and national
energy security benefits linked to petroleum
reduction strategies and the role propane
autogas is playing today.
As a nation, there’s an immediate need to
clean up our environment, strengthen the U.S.
economy by creating American jobs, reduce
foreign oil imports, reduce our nation’s petro-
leum dependence and stop sending money
overseas to countries that have an intent to
inflict harm on the United States.
PERC invests a tremendous amount of
resources and time in the public education
process. The typical propane autogas cus-
tomer today is the centralized fleet, where
return on investment and profitability are
two key financial objectives.
Fleet managers definitely understand the
need to reduce petroleum use and increase
profits. Also, this customer typically utilizes
centralized fueling, which benefits from
propane autogas’s affordable infrastructure,
portability and scalability.
O&E: Please describe PERC’s efforts
to raise awareness about autogas.
MT:
PERC invests annually in the public
and private education process. We are
actively engaged in market outreach and
communications, research and development
and safety and training in our key markets,
which include residential and commercial
heating, power generation and construction,
agriculture, off-roadandon-highway vehicles.
Information can be accessed on numerous
PERC websites including propanecouncil.
org, propane.com, and
.
O&E: Is autogas gaining popularity faster in
some regions of the U.S. than others?
Where are you seeing the most progress?
How is response in the Northeast?
MT:
Much like other technologies,
products and strategies, propane autogas
adoption has expanded previously at faster
rates in some sections of the U.S. than in
others. Early adopter states include Texas,
California, Washington, Oregon and most
of the Midwestern area; however, recent
adoption and expansion is spreading to all
states, including Alaska.
For instance, school bus sales have been
logged in 34 states, including Kentucky,
which is piloting their first spark-ignited
engine in 25 years. Crittenden County
use the air handler. The strategy then
becomes how often and how do you con-
trol it. There are months throughout the
year when there is no heating or cooling
happening, so the air handler might not be
operating. We believe that there should be a
separate, dedicated system to bring in air.
How does a contractor determine
what ventilation solution to use?
Tjernlund:
Since we want the contractor to
chose a Tjernlund solution, we constantly
try to spread the word that both ventilation
and combustion air must be addressed.
And, then we try to promote our solutions.
Field Controls:
One of the primary fac-
tors is budget. The simplest, least expensive
solution is to use a barometric damper to
bring in makeup air whenever the central
fan is engaged. The most expensive solution
is the HRV/ERV option. The advantages
there include balanced ventilation and
automatic tempering of the fresh air. The
mid-range solution would include a fresh
air damper that is controlled to open and
close only when ventilation is required.
When combined with an exhaust fan, this
method offers a balanced approach as well.
What advice do you have for contrac-
tors on how to sell these solutions?
Field
Controls:
They should always start by asking
questions. Is the homeowner concerned with
allergies or asthma? Have they weatherized
recently? Do they notice a musty smell in the
home or that air just doesn’t seem “fresh”?
They need to explain that indoor air pollu-
tion is a bigger problem than outdoor air
pollution and that it is equally important
that the air be Fresh (Ventilation), as well as
Clean (Filtered) and Pure (UV purified).
Tjernlund:
Education, brochures, web
sites. Tell homeowners about the Code
requirements.
How are you supporting contractors
who want to learn these products?
Field
Controls:
Field has developed a complete line
of ventilation and combustion air solutions
for virtually every application on the market.
Our premiere education tool is the Healthy
Home iAQ app that is available free for Apple
and Android tablets and smartphones. It can
be used to educate the contractor’s team as
well as his customers on the need for fresh air
ventilation as well as the solutions available
as part of the Field Healthy Home System
™
.
Tjernlund:
We offer training sessions
through our Manufacturer Rep network.
We attend all major Trade Shows around
the country to help spread the word about
the need for adequate air for combustion
and IAQ.
Venting
