How do Hybrid Cars Work?
There’s plenty of talk these days about the environmental benefits of using hybrid cars as well as how hybrid cars are becoming more, (ahem!) “accepted” in today’s society. Having said this, many people are still saying, “yeah, I know that hybrid cars are better for the environment and everything but, how do hybrid cars work?”.
Hybrid cars run on a combination of fuel and electricity. Therefore, hybrid cars have two engines: an electric engine and a conventional gasoline engine.
The electric engine is used when traveling at slow speeds (such as around the city) and the gasoline engine kicks in when driving at faster speeds (like out in the open road). This is fundamentally how hybrid cars work.
The electric engine is powered by rechargeable batteries. The batteries are automatically recharged, so you don’t need to manually recharge them yourself. Also, the gasoline engine in hybrid cars is usually very efficient at burning fuel, and they typically use technologies such as Variable Valve Timing Intelligence (VVT-i) etc.
Furthermore, both engines can operate in conjunction. For example, if you’re out on highway and put down your foot to pass another car, the electric motor will automatically be activated to assist in giving you an acceleration boost. Also, if the electric motor starts to run out of charge, the gasoline engine will automatically kick in to charge the batteries and run the electric motor.
Given many people spend hours each week stuck in traffic (as their car idles and burns through the gas), a hybrid car seems ideal. One of the problems with traditional electric cars is that they didn’t have enough power when it came to higher speeds and open road driving. This is where hybrid cars work really well. You get the best of both worlds - fuel savings when driving around the city, and full power when on the open road.
Tags: air pollution, best hybrid car, green cars, green house gas, hybrid cars
March 4th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Several automobile manufacturers announced that future vehicles will use aspects of hybrid electric technology to reduce fuel consumption without the use of the hybrid drivetrain. Regenerative braking can be used to recapture energy and stored to power electrical accessories. Hybrid Cars
July 25th, 2009 at 4:03 am
Exactly. The future of each and every car that manufacturers must produce will not only need to be hybrid-based, but also lenient enough to be developed later on in full electric system.