How Does The Hybrid Car Work?
March 3, 2010 by Mixture Car
Filed under how hybrid car works
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Like a Submarine, an Aircraft Carrier, an Electromotive Train and many other mode of transports.
Is very simple. Take an engine and place an Electrical Generator to produce Electric Power. Run the Engine (on this case is a gasoline or diesel engine) at a constant speed when is most efficient. And let the electrical system to run the vehicle.
Instead of using a battery that needs to be charged, it uses a fuel power engine to produce the power. Therefore, by running when is most efficient, it consumes less gas and less emissions.
That is in a nutshell…
But the drawbacks are…. The dealers wants way too much ! So is not cost effective if you buy one. The end cost of the vehicle on payments, maintenance, tax, title, insurance. Is higher than what you would pay for the same car with a regular engine.
So when their become the same price as the other… is a good buy, but not now.
The car only uses gasoline until you get to a certain speed and then the electric engine kicks in. It is more efficent and a great choice for everyday driving.
The engine provides most of the power to run the car. The battery is used to assist the engine during acceleration and then is recharged when the car is in the cruse mode and slowing down. This lowers the gas consumption during acceleration, thus increasing the overall gas mileage. This is a stop gap system until a good battery system comes along to make the electric car a reality.
A hybrid car is a car that is propelled by more than one energy source. Typically, when one is thinking of a hybrid car, it is usually a gasoline/electric hybrid, as that is what is currently available commercially. (There are diesel-electric concept cars (not in production), and there are diesel-electric locomotives, submarines, and heavy construction equipment…) Usually a dual-fuel vehicle, like a CNG-gasoline or LPG-gasoline vehicle isn’t in the popular hybrid definition, but those are usually aftermarket-fitted anyways.
There are no commercially-available plug-in hybrids on the market so far. (So you cannot plug them in, other than the same gas station pump that most other regular cars use.) The hybrid battery is recharged either through regenerative braking (kinetic energy from coasting/slowing down spins a generator to make potential energy in the battery) or by taking excess power from the gasoline engine (use the gasoline engine as a generator) to recharge the hybrid battery. There is no plug.
How a hybrid car works depends on the technology that a manufacturer decided to use to make it a hybrid. Not all hybrids are created equal.
As the lowest common denominator, hybrids usually have a larger electric motor (for starting the gasoline engine or for charging the hybrid battery), larger/additional hybrid battery pack to drive the electric motor, auto-stop (gasoline engine turns off at idle), regenerative braking (coasting or light braking will cause the motor to act as a generator, capturing some of that lost kinetic energy of wheel motion and storing it as electricity in the hybrid battery), improved fuel economy, and lower emissions.
More improved hybrid systems allow for tuning for higher performance (more power or acceleration), or for more fuel efficiency (usually through using a smaller engine, where the electric motors help out). On the more improved hybrid systems, you could see:
- ability to act as a standing generator to power equipment off-site
- additional peak power, by the electric motor assisting the gasoline engine as required (for acceleration or hill climbing, for example), similar to a turbo
- electric-only propulsion (short periods of the electric motors/hybrid battery alone powering the car, for low power requirements (such as coasting, driving on the level, low speeds)
- reduction in weight and ability to move accessories from belt-driven to electrically-driven (smaller wires needed)
The Ford/Mercury hybrid system and the Nissan hybrid system is fairly similar to the older Toyota THS system (seen on the 2001-2003 Prius). Toyota/Lexus hybrids are currently using the THS-II or HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) system. Honda is using their IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) hybrid system. GM’s newer hybrids are using their BAS (belt-alternator system) or two-mode system, while their older “hybrid” pickups are pretty much the lowest common denominator listed above.
For general overviews:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question262.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/hybridtech.shtml
Specific to manufacturers, how it works (and use a Flash-enabled web browser!):
Toyota hybrids in general:
http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/quick_guide.html
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/tech/environment/hsd/index.html
http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/tech/environment/ths2/index.html
Lexus hybrids in general:
http://www.hybridlexus.com/how/index.html
Ford Escape Hybrid:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/2008escapehybrid/ (use the Hybrid Technology 01 button on bottom left)
Mercury Mariner Hybrid:
http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/mariner/technology.asp
Mazda Tribute Hybrid:
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMainTRBHybrid&vehicleCode=TRB
Honda Civic Hybrid: http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-hybrid/features.aspx?feature=ima
(I couldn’t find anything substantial on the NissanUSA.com site for the Altima hybrid’s system. GM only notes that they have “hybrids” here: http://www.gm.com/explore/fuel_economy/hybrids.jsp )
and for the Honda Insight (which in general also covers the Honda IMA seen in the HCH and the Honda Accord Hybrid):
http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/enmodes.html
http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/enhybrid.html
In the US, there are several hybrid vehicles to choose from, in various size and performance categories:
Honda Insight (now discontinued)
Honda Accord Hybrid (now discontinued)
Honda Civic Hybrid
Toyota Prius
Toyota Camry Hybrid
Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Lexus RX400h
Lexus GS450h
Lexus LS600hL
Ford Escape Hybrid
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Mazda Tribute Hybrid
Saturn Vue Green Line
Saturn Aura Green Line
Nissan Altima Hybrid
GMC Sierra hybrid (discontinued?)
Chevy Silverado hybrid (discontinued?)
and soon to be available GMC Yukon and Chevy Tahoe hybrids, and Chevy Malibu hybrid…
If you were in Japan, you’d also be able to purchase a hybrid version of the Toyota Crown sedan, the Toyota Estima and Alphard minivans, and the Toyota Toyoace and Dyna large trucks.
With the exception of the Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius, which were designed to be an aerodynamic vehicle and a hybrid from the start, all of the other models are normal-looking conventional vehicles with a hybrid drivetrain and usually only a hybrid badge/nameplate to note it as different…
Insurance is about the same as a regular car. (you even get a hybrid discount through Travelers and (depending on state) Farmers Insurance.)
Maintenance is about the same as a regular car – use your favorite mechanic or DIY.
Same gasoline as a regular car…
Depending on model, many hybrids are holding high resale values (mainly the fuel-economy hybrids as opposed to the power hybrids).
Pros:
* Depending on where you live, tax incentives (income tax credit for US federal, some states or Canadian provinces offer income tax credits/deductions or sales tax reductions), or single-occupant HOV lane privilages (CA, VA, FL, NY), or reduced tolls (NY), or exempt from emissions/smog checks (CA, MD), or free parking…
* better HP and acceleration than a comparable car
* better (lower) emissions than a comparable car
* better fuel economy than a comparable car
* own a neat techy car
* long warranty (depending on model, the hybrid battery or system is warrantied in the US a minimum of 8 years/80,000 miles, up to the AT-PZEV models in CA-emission states out to 10 years/150,000 miles, and it is NOT pro-rated but a full coverage.)
* you do not plug it in (charges off of the gasoline engine and recapurted kinetic energy while braking)
Cons:
* slightly higher initial purchase price
* own a neat techy car (should you need unscheduled maintenance (break down), you’re mainly stuck paying dealer rates)
* many ill-informed people stopping you and asking questions about your car, telling you untruths about your own car, or even telling you how stupid you were for buying it…
* you cannot plug it in
I’ve never seen anyone do a cost-benefit analysis for a v4 vs v6 vs diesel engine, so why do one for a hybrid drivetrain? Most cost analysis articles neglect trade-in value which the Prius does very well in maintaining. (in some areas, used Prius are still selling for new prices for availability and rising gasoline prices!). Don’t forget to include federal and any state tax incentives in your calculation (Consumer Reports forgot, and had to issue a retraction that hybrids are cheaper to own/operate than their gasoline cousins). Edmunds.com still doesn’t take into account the true depreciation value (as seen by manually looking for a Prius trade-in value) when calculating their TCO, but they still say that hybrids will pay for themselves even when using their lower than actual trade-in amounts:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/AUTOS/08/22/bc.autos.hybrids.reut/index.html
Hybrids do cost less in the long term than their conventional counterparts. (Intellichoice used a 5 year ownership comparison in 2006) See:
http://www.intellichoice.com/press/Hybrid-Survey-2006
http://www.intellichoice.com/carBuying101/HypeOverHybrids
And Edmunds lists several hybrid models in their lowest True Cost to Own list for Dec. 2007: http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/tco/2007/index.html
While Consumer Reports in 2006 only found the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid would pay off within the same 5 year frame. The Honda Accord Hybrid, the Ford Escape Hybrid, the Lexus RX400h, and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid were also studied.
(I’ll note that there was a mathematical error in the initial publication of Consumer Reports’ hybrid vehicle cost analysis, which a retraction was published later… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11637968/ )
Since this publication, many more hybrid models have become available, so I can’t use this to say about hybrids “in general.”
The problem is that not all hybrids are created equal. There are different hybrid technologies, depending on manufacturer. Even among the same manufacturer, you can find one model tuned for performance (power and acceleration) with only a slight fuel efficiency improvement, compared to another for fuel efficiency and emissions. (See the Honda Accord Hybrid vs. Honda Civic Hybrid, or the Lexus models compared to their sister Toyota models…)
There is more to vehicle ownership besides initial purchase cost and the amount of gasoline used – there is also the costs to maintain and insure it, and also depreciation costs.
However, the societal costs for emissions are not usually included. The hybrids tend to be at worst an ULEV, with many an AT-PZEV. Some are only sold in CA-emissions states. (Compare that to the often suggested VW TDIs, which cannot be sold new in CA-emission states because of their poor emissions.) In the US, hybrid models tend to be the best in fuel economy in their respective classes, using the same testing procedure to compare all cars: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/best/bestworstNF.shtml