Explaining the Hybrid Vehicle
Date Added: February 17, 2008 09:41:25 PM
The word hybrid has much different meanings when discussing automobiles than when your discussing genetics. When you’re talking about cars or trucks you’re discussing the different technologies that are used in powering the vehicle to improve the fuel efficiency.
Hybrid vehicles combine the technologies of electric motors and gasoline powered engines to power the vehicle. The technology has been used since the 1970’s when first introduced to power electric –diesel buses.
Now-a-days when people refer to hybrids in automobiles they are talking about hybrid power sources for the vehicle. Usually it is a combination of a gas powered engine and an electric power plant that is made up of a electric motor, charging system for generating energy and a energy storage system of batteries.
Two Basic Types
As you can imagine, the technology involved in hybrid vehicles is pretty complex. There are numerous paths engineers can take in design so we will generalize them a little. The basic types can be broken down into series systems and parallel systems. Parallel systems are more of a full hybrid and series systems are considered more of a partial hybrid system.
With a series hybrid you get an assist from an electric motor as it is needed. Some examples of when needed are when accelerating or going uphill but the electric motor cannot power the vehicle on its own. It will have batteries that the electric motor gets power from and they are recharged by the motor and when the car slows down. A couple hybrid cars that are examples of this form of hybrid are the Honda Civic and the Saturn Vue.
Parallel systems have similar batteries and are able to use the same methods for recharging. The key difference is how they can be powered. It can come from the engine only, only the electric motor or both of them simultaneously. Some examples of hybrid vehicles using this method include the Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, Yukon and the Nissan Altima.
How do they work?
The series hybrid works similarly to a normal automobile with a motor that is usually running. This style then has a electric motor working between the gas engine and the wheels which steps in to assist with powering the car. By assisting the gasoline powered engine the electric motor aids in the fuel efficiency at the same time it decreases the emissions. Some series hybrids have an additional feature which will turn off the engine completely when the auto is stopped, restarting the motor when the brake pedal is released in preparation to go again.
There are times with a parallel hybrid that the vehicles motor will not run at all, functioning just like a fully electric automobile. It can do this up to speeds of twenty to thirty miles per hour and in light stop and go traffic with gentle acceleration. In some of these situations the vehicle could rely on the electric motor alone to power it. This can really boost the city miles per gallon and reduce any emissions from the car significantly.
Plug In Hybrids
This type of hybrid is just another form of parallel system with a larger capacity battery system. The more powerful battery system allows it to store more power to operate longer in its electric only mode and at higher speeds. These types of hybrids also have a feature which allows them to be plugged in to outlets in addition to generating power with the engine and braking. At the time of writing this there are no plug in hybrids available from the major car companies, but there are models scheduled to be available soon.
Hybrids Becoming Popular
Every year sees more new hybrid models being introduced at auto shows. Chevy has plans for the Chevy Volt which will be a plug in hybrid introduced by 2010 with additional plug in hybrids coming from Ford Escape and Saturn Vue.
There is a new two-mode system coming into use on larger vehicles like full size SUVs and additional hybrid concepts are tested and introduced each year. The hybrid is taking on steam and gaining popularity as consumers demand better alternatives and efficiency. In the coming years we will see more of these prototypes in production to provide consumers with additional choices in hybrid vehicles.
