How Exactly DO Hybrid Cars Work??

Save to delicious Saved by 0 users

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is quite the technological wonder. As a work in progress, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology has done much to improve the gas-dependence situation and has saved several households and individuals from having to spend so much on fossil fuels.

What is it under the hybrid car hood that is creating all these raving reviews that seem to take consumers by the neck and lead them to their nearest hybrid car dealer? Let’s try to take a look at just how hybrid cars work.

The Combination

The keyword in all of this is the word “hybrid.” An HEV basically brings out the best in both electrical power and fuel. By incorporating both an electrical motor and a gas engine, it allows the vehicle to switch back and forth between energy sources. Of course, the usual case is that the car really depends solely on the battery and electrical motors to run the vehicle.

You may ask what the gas is for. The car will still need gas to operate an engine that charges the battery which, in turn, runs the whole car. However, the good thing about this set up is that not much gas is required to charge up those batteries. Hence, hybrid cars really only need so much gas to fill their significantly smaller gas tanks and therefore saves people from having to cash out so much on gas.

Go The Distance

In order to actually see how a hybrid car works, one would have to take one for a spin on a full tank and compare the results in mileage with a car that runs only on gas. One will definitely see the huge difference in cars dependent on electric motors. Going a great distance is achieved by the way the hybrid works. There are 3 essential technologies that allow this to happen.

The first innovative technology used in hybrid cars is the regenerative braking that applies resistance to the drive train. This in turn causes the wheels to slow down. The energy from the wheels turns the engine which in real time acts as generator which converts the energy wasted during coasting and braking into electricity. The electricity is then accumulated in a battery until such time when it is needed by other functions in the electric motor.

The next technology used in hybrid cars is the elect motor assist. This elect motor assist provides extra power to help the motor in acceleration like ascending elevated terrains or speeding up. Smaller engines are used which is more efficient compared to when internal combustion engine is used.

Another hybrid car technology is the automatic start and shutdown. When a hybrid car stops for a stoplight, the whole engine shuts down as well. This helps the engine in conserving energy and fuel from running idle. When the vehicle is accelerated again, the engine automatically starts up. When combined, these three hybrid technologies create a vehicle that is simply to reckon with!