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A hybrid vehicle uses more than one form of onboard energy for propulsion, typically a traditional internal combustion engine and fuel tank as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack. Hybrids are often mistaken for electric vehicles but are actually gasoline-powered machines that utilize regenerative braking and an electric motor to improve fuel efficiency compared to conventional vehicles. Plug-in hybrids, like the Chevrolet Volt, have a significantly larger battery than regular hybrids allowing for greater all-electric driving range before using the gasoline engine, and can be recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet.

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58 views2 pages

Autos

A hybrid vehicle uses more than one form of onboard energy for propulsion, typically a traditional internal combustion engine and fuel tank as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack. Hybrids are often mistaken for electric vehicles but are actually gasoline-powered machines that utilize regenerative braking and an electric motor to improve fuel efficiency compared to conventional vehicles. Plug-in hybrids, like the Chevrolet Volt, have a significantly larger battery than regular hybrids allowing for greater all-electric driving range before using the gasoline engine, and can be recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet.

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dragonssj4
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Defining Hybrids

A vehicle is a hybrid if it utilizes more than one form of onboard energy to achieve propulsion.
In practice, that means a hybrid will have a traditional internal-combustion engine and a fuel
tank, as well as one or more electric motors and a battery pack.
Hybrid cars are sometimes mistakenly confused with electric vehicles. Hybrids are most often
gasoline-burning machines that utilize their electric bits to collect and reuse energy that
normally goes to waste in standard cars. Theoretically, diesel-electric hybrids would be even
more fuel-efficient, but hybrid systems and diesel engines both represent extra cost. So far,
installing both in the same vehicle has proven to be prohibitively expensive

Motor-generator: The more accurate term for the electric motor. It provides supplemental
acceleration "oomph" when operating as a motor by drawing electricity from the battery.
Several hybrids have two, and a few models employ three.
Stop-start: Present on all hybrids, the engine's traditional starter motor is absent because the
motor-generator takes on that function, too. Hybrid-control software shuts the engine off while
stopped at traffic signals and automatically restarts it again with the electric motor when the
driver releases the brake pedal. Eliminating the fuel waste of an idling gas engine causes
overall mpg to climb significantly and tailpipe emissions to drop, especially in town.
Regenerative braking: An important function of the motor-generator is to generate electricity
to recharge the battery as it absorbs a portion of the vehicle's momentum when slowing or
coasting downhill. Normal cars waste all of their excess momentum as heat in the brakes.
Regenerative braking is insufficient to stop a car quickly, so conventional hydraulic brakes are
still necessary

.
Electric drive: Operating the vehicle on electric power alone is possible if the hybrid system
has enough electrical capacity. The maximum speed and distance over which electric-only
operation can be sustained varies from essentially zero to a handful of miles, and has
everything to do with the weight and aerodynamics of the vehicle, the strength of the motorgenerator and, more than anything else, the capacity of the battery

Series hybrids: This is the oldest hybrid type. Diesel-electric locomotives and ships using this
layout appeared in the last century. In a series hybrid car, electric motors alone turn the drive
wheels, so the motors must be large and powerful. But a series hybrid is not a "pure" electric
vehicle. It has a dedicated engine that burns fuel and expels emissions. The engine powers a
generator to produce the electricity onboard the vehicle.

Plug-in hybrids: These are not really a fourth type of hybrid because a plug-in could
conceivably be based on any of the above layouts. Plug-in hybrids (also called PHEVs) began
appearing in the market with theChevrolet Volt at the end of 2010. Their distinguishing
characteristic is a significantly enlarged battery that permits the electric driving range to swell
beyond the mile or two possible with regular hybrids. It also provides a way to plug the battery
into an electrical outlet for recharging while parked. The benefit of the plug-in hybrid is its ability
to travel in all-electric mode for most short trips, reserving the gasoline engine for longer drives.
That's a feature that can boost fuel economy into 100 MPGe territory. In addition to the Volt,
plug-in hybrids include the Ford Fusion Energi, Toyota Prius and a version of the Honda
Accord.

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