The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is quite a marvel. Even as a work in progress, it has improved the gas-dependence situation and has saved many from having to spend so much on fossil fuels and has even helped save some taxpayer money.
What is it under the hybrid car hood that is seems to set it apart from the other cars? Let's take a peep and try to take a look at just how these wonders called the hybrid cars work.
What's In 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
To understand how a hybrid car really works, you would need to take one for a spin on a full tank and compare the results in distance and mileage with a vehicle that runs on gas alone. Definitely, you will observe the world of difference in vehicles running on electric motors. Running great distances is easily achieved in the way how a hybrid car works. There are basically 3 technologies that makes this possible.
The first is known as regenerative braking and this involves an electric motor that applies resistance to the drive train which causes the wheels to slow down. The energy from the wheels turns the motor which in real time acts as a generator which converts energy wasted during coasting and braking into electricity. That electricity is then stored in a battery until it is needed by functions in the electric motor.
The next hybrid car technology used is the elect motor assist which gives additional power to aid the motor in acceleration like in speeding up or ascending higher terrains. This simply means that the smaller engine or electric motor is used. This motor is more efficient that the internal combustion engine that needs and uses up more gas.
Another hybrid car technology that is beginning to pick up in a lot of modern hybrid car is the automatic start and shutdown. This technology allows a hybrid vehicle to stop in the middle of traffic or at a stoplight, thus, shutting down the whole engine as well, ultimately preventing the engine from wasting energy and fuel from just being idle. When the accelerator is stepped on again, the engine will start up automatically and acceleration is made available. It's a clever option that is ideal for city driving. When combined, these three technologies spell how hybrid cars work.
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