Dive Brief:
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A suburban Phoenix homebuilder is offering owners the option of having a natural gas pump in the garages of their new houses.
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Fulton Homes has said its new, 674-site Queen Creek Station is the first master-planned community in the country to offer the option, which the builder sells as an upgrade for $6,000. That translates into $28 on a homeowner’s monthly mortgage payment.
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The builder partnered with Southwest Gas Corp. and a local Honda dealer to offer the in-home filling station for owners of cars fueled by compressed natural gas — an alternative, lower-emissions alternative to gasoline.
Dive Insight:
According to the Department of Transportation, as of June 30, Arizona had 3,826 registered vehicles that run only on compressed natural gas.
Queen Creek Station homes will be equipped with two gas meters: one for natural gas-fueled appliances, and a second for the garage. Southwest Gas meters the two uses separately because it charges less for the car’s gas than for the home’s.
The personal pumps dispense approximately half a gallon of gas an hour, so it takes several hours to refill an empty tank. But the operating pump may be left unsupervised, so homeowners can fill up overnight.
