How Hybrid Cars Work
If you want to know how hybrid cars work then start with this article, which includes engine design, environment issues, regenerative brakes, MPG, and hybrid system types.
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The climate of the world today is focused on global, environmental issues. Part of the movement is to reduce the reliance on oil, especially with respect to gasoline and automobiles. Gasoline also has a direct impact on the climate, as emissions contribute to atmospheric problems. One of the main ways that both of these issues are addressed is the hybrid car. The most popular kind out on the market right now is the gasoline – electric hybrid. How do these vehicles reduce emissions and reduce the reliance on oil and gasoline?
The best way to understand how hybrid cars work is to take a step back and consider a gasoline car. At the heart of the vehicle is an internal combustion engine. Into this, the vehicle feeds gasoline, which enters the engine. There, a spark causes the gas to explode, which pushes a piston, in turn powering the transmission, which moves the car. Attached to the engine, to help capture all of the energy, is an alternator, which takes the action of the engine and converts it into electricity, which typically goes into the battery. The electric drive involves the same sort of system. Motion is provided by a motor, feed with a voltage via a large array of batteries. The batteries are like a gas tank, storing electrical energy until it is needed.
Enter the hybrid, a combination of the two systems, providing more benefits and eliminating the weaknesses of each individual system. Electric cars have a major short coming in that finding a source of electricity is very difficult. Hybrid cars deal with the issue by getting the energy from gas. There are two kinds of hybrid systems, series and parallel. In a parallel hybrid vehicle, it can be though as a union of a gas car and electric car. Both systems can power the transmission at the same time, and the gas engine will help power the electric side through the alternator. This system allows the vehicle to burn gas when it is needed, but otherwise run completely off the hybrid battery .
The other system, which is more advantageous, is the series hybrid. In this vehicle, the gas engine is designed only to move the alternator. Thus, there is a more efficient conversion of energy from gasoline to electricity. There is also the benefit that a engine solely purposed for electricity generation is much smaller, and lighter, than a engine meant for power transmission. This keeps the car light, requiring less energy. Once the alternator generates energy, it is stored in the batteries and utilized by the motors in the car which transmit energy to the wheels and move the vehicle.
What are the advantages of a hybrid? Since the gas engine is smaller, it can operate closer to maximal load and provide energy much more efficiently. The net effect is much more improved gas mileage. It is thanks to that fact that a hybrid car can see 50, 60, even 90 mile per gallon fuel efficiencies. So when you for a hybrid, there are a couple considerations in evaluating different hybrid vehicles. First, is it a series system? If the hybrid is a parallel system, it will be much less efficient. Second, how small and efficient is the combustion engine. The smaller it is, and the more efficient it is, the better for fuel economy .
Hybrids are the starting point for changes that will bring about an existence with less of an impact upon the planet. Soon, all energy will be renewable and have very little impact.
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