Natural Gas Cars Pros and Cons

Natural gas is one of the many available fossil fuels. It has not been used as extensively as other fuels such as gasoline and diesel. This is mainly because the processes involved in making natural gas a viable fuel are many. Other factors such as the high cost of implementing such a technology also serve as a hindrance. Only recently, car manufactures have started targeting natural gas cars.

Natural gas cars, also known as CNG cars, have been around for long time now. Natural gas has to be compressed before it can be used as a fuel. Hence the acronym, CNG (Compressed Natural Gas). Given below is a list of natural gas vehicles pros and cons.

Pros

Pollution Control: This is one of the biggest issues gripping the world today. The effects of air pollution are of great concern to modern scientists. If the pollution is not controlled now, we may never be able to revert the environmental damage we have caused. Natural gas cars are far less polluting compared to gasoline cars.

Tax Incentives: Not just in America, governments all around the world have declared tax incentives to consumers using natural gas cars. Even though this is mainly to cap air pollution, the resulting low prices are a major benefit.

Abundance of Natural Gas: Natural gas has not been used as extensively as gasoline. Hence, there are vast amounts of natural gas deposits still available. So, we can presume that we may not see complete depletion of natural gas at least in our lifetime. As far as fuel is concerned, there is relatively greater assurance of the availability.

Conversion Kit: If you cannot afford to purchase a new natural gas car, there is a conversion kit available, which will allow you to hybridise your car. After installation of this kit, you will be able to use a multi-fueled hybrid car, i.e. a gasoline and gas car.

Cost of Maintenance: When you buy a car or a truck you are obviously making a long-term investment. Cost of preventive maintenance of natural gas cars and trucks is very low in a long-term perspective.

High Compression Ratio: Natural gas engines have a high compression ratio. High compression ratio means that the fuel is almost completely burnt, leaving behind very few by-products, which is beneficial to the environment.

Cons

Storage Tank : Any gas needs a container for storage or a storage tank. The design implementation of a natural gas car does not allow engineers to have a small storage tank, and a big storage tank is not very conducive. Car safety is also a concern in gas storage.

Slow Performance: Natural gas cars are not famous for their high speeds. The horse power of similarly calibrated engines for gasoline and natural gas are not at all comparable. The low horse power basically results in the slow performance of natural gas cars.

Less Performance: By performance, I mean the mileage of the car in relation to the amount of gas used. One full tank of gasoline gives more output than one full tank of natural gas.

CNG Station Availability: There are very few CNG stations available. Therefore, your options become limited. If you run out of natural gas, chances are that the nearest gas station will be at least ten miles away. In this scenario, you can either carry a big tank in your car, or tow your car to the CNG station.

Purchase Cost: Since natural gas cars are not as popular as gasoline cars, manufactures are finding it difficult to drive down the cost. High purchase cost is one thing that you have to deal with while purchasing natural gas cars.

Low Volumetric Efficiency: This is the measure of the charge that is delivered into the cylinders. Simply put, low volumetric efficiency contributes to low efficiency in the performance of the car.

Even though there are many pros and cons of using natural gas, the single most reason why one should buy a natural gas car is that it is environment friendly. If our generation does not change its ways, the coming generation will have to face the consequences, leave alone the planet. Hence, in the debate on natural gas cars pros and cons, pros have the upper hand.