Search Results

This paper assesses the impact of the cold start phase of light duty vehicle use on energy use based on a review of large set of vehicle emissions test data from Canadian and U.S. Government databases. The data indicate that, at 24°C test ambient, a 20% increase in fuel use is measured in the “cold” Bag 1 driving compared with the “hot” Bag 3. Lower ambient conditions increase this penalty in a linear manner such that at the -6.7°C test condition, the penalty rises to 40-80%. The paper then integrates the laboratory tests data with vehicle demographic and usage data gathered from consumer driving studies. Included in this data are results from a small pilot survey in Vancouver, which directly measured instantaneous fuel consumption of vehicles in consumer use. These data sets were then used to estimate the total “extra” energy used during the cold start phase of driving.

In December 1995, the Province of British Columbia announced the introduction of more stringent automobile emissions standards for vehicles sold in the province commencing with the 1998 model year. The emissions standards are based on the model utilized by the State of California as outlined in Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations. In addition, the Federal Government of Canada has announced that the British Columbia standards may be adopted on a national basis. This announcement, coupled with other initiatives outlined by the Province of British Columbia in its Clean Air Strategy has provided the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) with the opportunity to develop an advanced training program on automobile emissions to ensure a knowledge base needed to meet the demands of implementation of enhanced inspection and maintenance (I/M) programs in the North America. This paper will discuss the outline of the proposed course.

The Province of BC requires all light duty vehicles in the lower mainland to pass or conditionally pass an emissions inspection as a condition of license and insurance renewal. Vehicles converted to natural gas and propane fail emissions tests at higher rates than comparable vehicles run on gasoline. Work is described to investigate the emissions performance of vehicles fitted with after-market conversions. FTP 75, Hot 505 and BC AirCare test cycles (total 74) were performed on a variety of vehicles (total 20) which were split between dual-fuel and mono-fuel using propane or natural gas along with gasoline. All but three vehicles were supplied by the manufacturer to run on gasoline with closed-loop air/fuel ratio feedback. The after market conversions consisted of both open-loop and closed-loop feedback systems for the gaseous fuel systems.

The British Columbia vehicle emissions inspection and maintenance, I/M, program, AirCare, has monitored the performance of technicians and repair centres since program inception. The purpose of performance monitoring is to oversee the effectiveness of technicians who are certified to perform emissions related repairs after a vehicle has failed the initial I/M inspection. Since June, 1995, the Program Administration Office, PAO, has been working on refining the parameters used to assess repair effectiveness. This paper describes the development and implementation of Repair Effectiveness Indices to monitor the effectiveness of repairs performed by the certified automotive repair industry with respect to the AirCare Program. Repair Effectiveness Indices, REIs, apply to certified repair technicians and repair centres and are provided to the technicians and repair centres on a regular basis.

Propane and natural gas vehicles are perceived by the public as having low exhaust emissions. However, the results of an emissions inspection program started in British Columbia in 1992 indicate that this is not usually the case. The study reported in this paper addresses two questions which arose from these results: ‘Why do propane and natural gas vehicles fail the inspection in such large numbers?’ and ‘What needs to be done to fix the problem?’ The project comprises three phases. Phase one is to establish the profile of the alternative fuel vehicle fleet in the Province; the way in which they usually fail emissions inspection; the types of repairs received after failing; and the effectiveness of those repairs in reducing emissions. Phase two is to formulate general repair stategies which can be applied in the great majority of cases and therefore effectively become recognized by government agencies, the conversion industry, and the repair industry.