Propane-butane has always been much cheaper than gasoline. About double. Even taking into account the 10-20% increase in consumption, the owner saved about a third of money.
I can confirm the calculated figures from personal experience: for a year and a half I actively drove in the editorial Nissan Almera with LPG in Russia and Europe.
You can read more about the nuances of real operation on gas and fuel costs here.
It was
Everything changed last year. For a number of reasons, the price per liter of gas rose to 30 rubles, and in some regions it passed this figure. Gasoline AI-95 had not even reached 50 rubles per liter, and “ninety-second” could be found at 44-45 rubles.
Obviously, in this situation it became unprofitable to install HBO. Even some of the motorists who already had the equipment stopped refueling with propane-butane: the savings came to nothing.
There are more than seven years between the photos. Gas stations are different, but the region is one. If we only take these two points in time, gas has not increased in price at all. If you look at the whole period, a liter used to cost ten rubles more. Petrol is steadily rising in price and has added more than 50% in seven years.
It became
Gas prices have fallen. Personal observations in Moscow and the Moscow region showed a spread from 17 to 21.5 rubles per liter. From different regions they write about prices from 13-14 to 23-25 rubles per liter.
Fantastic: about the same prices were seven years ago! Gas is cheaper than gasoline in some places, not even twice – three times. It is profitable for them to refuel.
But there is one caveat to keep in mind. The authorities do not control gas prices as strictly as for petrol or diesel, and moreover, the price tags vary widely depending on the season (gas fuel is cheaper in spring and summer). And, as it turned out last year, because of many other factors. It may turn out to be profitable now, but not in a year.
Installation and registration
But the cost of installing HBO has gone up. In 2014, when we put the equipment in the Nissan Almera editorial office, it cost 21-25 thousand rubles. It was already necessary to formally register then, but few people were bothered by this: traffic inspectors did not pay attention, the technical inspection was known what kind.
So there were no extra costs. Now installers take 30-40 thousand rubles for equipment and work. Another 6-7 thousand will be asked for help in registering the changes made.
Useful or not?
And yet, at current propane-butane prices, switching to gas makes sense. Painfully big difference with gasoline. For example, for the price of AI-92 47.5 rubles per liter (AI-95 is on average five rubles more expensive) and propane-butane 17.5 rubles, a car with a gasoline consumption of 10.5 l / 100 km will have an LPG installation worth 36,000 rubles for only 12.5 thousand km.
And if such a price difference persists, then in the near future the demand for the installation of HBO will increase. After all, switching to gas saves considerable fuel. Especially if the car has a high fuel consumption and you also drive a lot. Calculate the savings for your car – be surprised!