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What is a Hybrid Car?
by Scott HarkerHybrid cars are thus called because they run on a combination of two different power sources. The first power source is a normal, but usually highly fuel efficient, gas engine. Hybrid gas engines are designed to get the maximum amount of power and mileage from the minimum amount of fuel. These engines are also designed to minimize the exhaust gas and carbon emissions. The second power source is a high power electric motor, which is run by batteries stored in the car.
Many trains are hybrid vehicles! Such trains draw power from the main electric grid where it is physically practical and economically
Hybrid cars are the result of new innovations and advances in technology that have enabled car manufacturers to pursue the idea of reduced fuel costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
This combination of two fuel sources allows hybrid cars to run on the "normal" gas or diesel engine when high or sustained levels of power are required. Think of fast country roads or highways. Such driving conditions are the times when a gas engine is at its most efficient - providing the best fuel economy, and the lowest level of pollution.
Now, the gas engine in hybrid cars can provide huge amounts of power for fast acceleration, but that is not an effective use of its capabilities. Gas engines use disproportionately large amounts of fuel and produce huge amounts of emissions when driven hard for acceleration. Slower speeds and acceleration is the providence of the electric motor. However, the gas engine is still the main power source for hybrid cars. And for cruising along the highway, hybrid cars use a gas engine which can be very efficient, use minimal fuel and produce low levels of gases. A smart driver uses the lack of need for alteration of speed or power, to ease off on the gas, until a comfortable cruising speed has been achieved. Then you are using only the amount of fuel needed to maintain the equilibrium.
The electric motor used in hybrid cars is, by contrast, very flexible and is much better at handling the power surge that is required for steady acceleration. Of course, for rapid acceleration, (when needed), the gas engine will kick in! The electric motor on hybrid cars is also very good for low level town and urban driving. And when a vehicle is stationary, the electric motor is effectively shut down, it does not need to "tick over" like a traditional gas engine. So when waiting in traffic jams or at lights, you are not using any fuel or wearing out your engine!
The electric motor should provide all the power that is needed for general town driving in hybrid cars, but the car will automatically switch over to the gas engine when more power is required. The transition point from electric motor to gas engine is normally around the 40 mph mark. Then when the power needs are less, for example, when you pull off the freeway and slip back to an urban setting again, the gas engine will shut down and the electric motor will, seamlessly, power the car again.
The batteries on hybrid cars do not need to be charged from a main electric source. They are constantly kept "topped up" by the onboard generators powered by the gas engine. The batteries are also kept recharged by the braking action of the car. Normally when a car brakes the energy from the motion of the car is lost to heat and friction. And the car needs a fresh supply of power or gas to push it back up to the speed it was at before braking. Hybrid cars, with their electric motors, have the ability to recover and re-use this braking energy, cutting, even further, the need for more fuel.
The electric motor on hybrid cars when going backwards, or reversed, will, instead of using electricity, act as a generator and create electricity. So when the car is braking, in addition to the normal brakes, the electric motor is used as a brake. This turns the motor backwards and generates electricity, which is then stored in the batteries for later use. You effectively use the same power twice!
Hybrid cars are made to be highly fuel-efficient and produce very little emissions compared to a standard car. Because of these efficiencies, the rising cost of fuel and the need to curtail the massive amounts of greenhouse gases being pumped into the environment, hybrid cars are becoming increasingly popular. And with the new tax breaks for hybrid cars and more models becoming available, the trend of more consumers choosing hybrids will continue.