how dose a hybrid car works??
February 21, 2010 by Mixture Car
Filed under how hybrid car works
how dose a hybrid car works?? for a Toyota prius / plug in hybrid
i might buy one but i want to see how dose it works!!
anyone know any website that tell me??
thx
Has an electric and another gas motor. Batteries too. The plug in version has a lithium battery bank and must be fitted as such (which voids the warrentee), but get 100 mpg.
The standard Prius works well. Get up to 60 mpg (actually 45 is more likely). $22 to 25 K for one. Generally you need to wait for one.
Batteries are best replaced every 5 years at $2 to 3 K a pop.
A hybrid is where they use both gas and electricity for propulsion in a car…
The theory is that the gas engine will not have to use as much gas because it will not be doing the normal acceleration, it will just propel the car during times of cruising along.
the Electricity stored in batteries will do the acceleration and deceleration portion. Power used during the acceleration is regained during deceleration.
This works Well in town, where the hybrids get (they say) up to 50mpg.
On the highway they use the engine almost entirely so then they get normal highway-like 45mpg.
The only drawback to a hybrid is the battery replacement that needs to be done every 3 to 4 years at a cost of about $3000!!! This negates any gas savings, and no one wants to buy a used hybrid that needs a new Battery pack!! The only benefit is low emissions.
A better alternative is Diesel. Small diesel cars get 40+mpg in the city, and nearly 50mpg on the highway, their engines last a lot lot longer than gas. Want good emissions? a 5% blend of biodiesel (converted vegetable oil) in the regular diesel makes a marked increase in emissions, better is 20% and some people use 100% biodiesel! Some people fix their cars to run on straight waste vegetable oil.
here, read
http://www.transmitmedia.com/golfTDI/
oh, want to see how long a diesel engine lasts??
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/23/vw-finds-highest-mileage-diesel-in-ohio/
howstuffworks.com
Runs on electric motors and a regular internal combustion engine. I forgot when, but the two switch off, and while the gas engine is running, its charging the batteries, while the electric motors are going, it does not use any gas.
Be careful, last I heard those batteries only last a few years and they’re like $5k to replace.
Toyota’s website should be able to fill you in on the rest
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
http://www.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm/printable
Hybrid cars work by seamlessly integrating a gas engine, an electric motor and a high-powered battery. The battery provides power for the electric motor and is recharged by recapturing energy that would normally be lost when decelerating or coasting. This recapturing of energy is called regenerative braking. If needed, power from the gas engine can be diverted to recharge the battery as well. Because of these charging strategies, hybrid cars never need to be plugged in.
To understand how the gas engine, electric motor and battery work together, it is best to divide hybrids into two categories: mild hybrids and full hybrids. Each has its own approach to incorporating the three components.
Full hybrids integrate the electric motor, gas engine and battery so that the electric motor can operate on its own when certain conditions are met. For some hybrids it does this under low speeed, and once the vehicle reaches higher speeds, the gasoline engine starts up and takes over. Under hard acceleration, both the gas engine and the electric motor can work together to provide the needed power. Unlike mild hybrids, full hybrids are able to generate and consume electricity at the same time. The Toyota Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid, Mercury Mariner Hybrid, toyta Highlander, and Lexus RX 400h employ this type full hybrid arrangement.
In 2006 the Honda Civic Hybrid moved into the full hybrid category. It is different than the other full hybrid systems. While the Civic Hybrid cannot start from a stoplight under electric power alone, at certain light-load crusing conditions the electric can provide the sole means of propulsion.
Whichever approach is used, they both help hybrid cars achieve higher gas mileage and lower emissions
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 hybrid definition, but those are usually aftermarket-fitted anyways.
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 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 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), 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
Specific to manufacturers, how it works (and use a Flash-enabled web browser!):
Toyota Prius: http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2008/prius/key_features/hsd.html
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
Honda Accord Hybrid: http://automobiles.honda.com/accord-hybrid/performance.aspx
Honda Civic Hybrid: http://automobiles.honda.com/civic-hybrid/performance.aspx
(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 HAH above):
http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/enmodes.html
http://www.insightcentral.net/encyclopedia/enhybrid.html
There are no commercially-available plug-in hybrids on the market so far. Some hobbiests and aftermarket companies have been altering a few hybrids (Prius, Ford Escape Hybrid/Mercury Mariner Hybrid) to make them plug-in capable. Typically this requires adding additional hybrid batteries, besides the ability to charge off the mains.
For more information, check out http://www.calcars.org/vehicles.html
For cost reasons, unless you are a fleet owner or other high-mileage driver it probably will not be worth the cost of the PHEV conversion for you. (Conversion pricing is high due to startup costs and low volumes, besides the pricing of the needed additional battery packs.)
To note, converting to a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) does not reduce the vehicle’s range. It gives the owner the option to recharge the (newly added larger) hybrid battery pack at night (cheap electricity and off-peak electric load which would otherwise be lost). The vehicle would run for a certain distance (longer than stock) on the stored electric power alone, and when the battery pack is depleted to a certain point the vehicle reverts back to its original hybrid self and runs on a combination of the gasoline engine (which will also recharge the battery) and the electric motor. A PHEV would add a greater all-electric range to the existing hybrid, besides the ability (but not the requirement!) to plug it into an electric source.