Hybrid Automobiles

For as long as I can remember, environmentalists have talked about electric vehicles. They has been the panacea of clean air and water advocates because according to tests run at the Argonne National Laboratory comparing gasoline and battery driven vehicles:

Electric vehicles cut carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emission by 98%. Carbon Monoxide is a poisonous gas that can cause both heart and lung problems. Hydrocarbons are responsible for ground level ozone.
Electric vehicles reduce the emission of nitrous oxide and sulfur oxide which are key components of acid rain.
Electric vehicles reduce the amount of particulates (soot) which are suspected of being a primary cause of asthma.
Electric vehicles produce less carbon dioxide at slower speeds than gasoline engines.

If Electric Vehicles Are So Great, Why Doesn't Everybody Drive One?

The primary reason that most people aren't driving electric vehicles is because the batteries used to power than are both heavy and expensive. Even more importantly, these cars can't travel far enough between recharges to make them practical. The commercially produced electric vehicles just wouldn't sell.

Enter The Hybrid Vehicle

There are two very promising technologies for alternative fuel vehicles: hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles. Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen to generate electricity to power the car. They are still in the developmental stages. However, hybrid electric vehicles are available in the showrooms and many are running up and down the highways. Hybrid electric vehicles are cars and trucks that basically are a marriage between an electric motor and a gasoline internal combustion engine. They use both motors to power the vehicle taking advantages of the natural efficiencies of each type of motor to create fuel efficient automobiles.

Hybrid electric vehicle technology allows a vehicle to be designed and configured to meet different performance objectives. The vehicle can be setup to maximize fuel efficiency, maximize power output or even to provide power to external devices.

How a Hybrid Works

The picture below is a drawing of a generic hybrid electric vehicle design.

Each pictured item works as follows:

Battery - The battery in a hybrid electric vehicle stores the electricity that is generated by either the gasoline engine or the regenerative braking system.

Internal Combustion Engine - The internal combustion engine in a hybrid electric vehicle is a small highly efficient gas powered auto engine. The gasoline engine is the primary power source when the vehicle is actually moving.

Electric Motor - The electric motor in a hybrid electric vehicle starts the gasoline engine and provides additional power to the gasoline engine when needed. It also converts the mechanical energy from both the regenerative braking system and the gasoline engine into electricity to recharge the battery. Most hybrid electric vehicles can use the electric motor by itself for stop and start and other low speed driving such as backing up to further increase fuel efficiency.

Power Split Device – The power split device in a hybrid electric vehicle controls how all of the energy being generated by the different components is used. It can allow the electric motor to assist the gasoline engine or use its energy to recharge the batteries.

Generator – The generator in a hybrid electric vehicle converts the mechanical energy from the gasoline engine into electricity. It can also be used to directly start the gasoline engine instantly if it is turned off.

Other Important Features

Automatic Start and Stop – the automatic stop/start feature in a hybrid electric vehicle automatically shuts off both the gasoline and electric motors when the vehicle is stopped so energy is not wasted in idling. The battery will continue to power all of the other electric components including the air conditioning. As soon as the accelerator is pressed, both motors are restarted.

Regenerative Braking – The regenerative braking feature in a hybrid electric vehicle allows the vehicle to capture the energy used to stop the vehicle to generate electricity to recharge the battery.

Tax Advantage – The federal government is considering a tax credit for purchasing a new hybrid vehicle in the future.