running your car on gas or electric

With alternative green fuel options maturing now, and rising petrol prices, its a good time to switch to an alternative fuel option. One of the newest, and most sustainable will be biofuels, but at the moment the two most widely available alternative fuels are natural gas and electric.

You might think that natural gas is a limited resource, and in some forms it is. However as long as cows keep dropping turds there will be a source of methane gas that can be turned into a usable fuel. Gas is also released from decomposing food waste, and plant matter too. Gas is a clean burning fuel, and doesn't leave a sticky residue like gasoline does. Its widely available worldwide at most of the main fill up stations. Where you operate a fleet of vehicles, you can get a tank filled up on your site, and this will last you for a few months. You will need to get you vehicle converted to run on natural gas though, and although the cost is $1000-$2000 you will get this back in no time, by halving your fuel costs, and giving you engine a better fuel to run on. Once the gas tank is installed, usually in the boot somewhere, you can switch between the petrol, and gas via a switch on the dashboard.

Electric is still an emerging technology, with only new cars made with the technology a real option. This is due to the engine being different, and not like a petrol engine. If you don't already have an electric car, it won't be worth trying to get it converted, you'd be better of just buying a new car. The biggest difficulty still with electric is the size of the batteries still required. It will be a few years until the next generation of batteries makes it to the market that provides a huge capacity increase in a smaller package. Some electric cars carry 6 batteries round various points in the car. The good thing about electric is you can charge it from any power point, but these are a bit more rare than the natural gas fill up points. There has recently been a trial in London, with small posts set up next to parking spaces for electric cars, where you can charge your car from. Currently charges can take up to a couple of hours though. One of the better ideas for electric cars is a system like a car wash, where you drive through, and your battery is mechanically swapped with a ready charged one. This is ideal, as it would save you time.

If your still undecided, the best thing to do is if your happy with your current car, then you should switch to natural gas, and if you in the market for a new car, get an electric hybrid.