Posts Tagged ‘hi-tech’

Hybrid Electric Engines: Some Information

Have you ever asked yourself about hybrid cars? They certainly look stylish and modern, but what is it about them that makes them so different and so extraordinary? After all, most cars look the same these days, do they not? They are all designed by computer to be aerodynamic and aerodynamic is aerodynamic, so they all end up looking indistinguishable to anyone who is not an aficionado.

Well, the fact is that the difference between a hybrid car and a normal car lies under the bonnet. There are different types of hybrid vehicles as well, but the most common sort has a hybrid electric engine. Therefore, you could say that what makes hybrid cars special from most other, ordinary cars is their engine.

Or engines really, because hybrid electric cars basically have two engines. One, the internal combustion engine, runs on petrol, LPG or diesel and the other, the electric motor, runs off electricity stored in an array of powerful batteries. On the other hand, ordinary cars only have an internal combustion engine. It is a good idea to examine these two types of engine separately.

First of all the electric motor. Electrical energy is generated by various components on the car and stored in a large bank or array of powerful batteries. The electricity is created by the turning of the internal combustion engine, just as with a standard car, when it is in use, but also by the wheels or / and the car’s braking system. Different models have different techniques of generating this electricity, but they are all very hi-tech and very efficient.

When the car’s internal computers decide that the car no longer needs the power of the internal combustion engine, it will turn it off and switch to the electric motor instead. The circumstances where this might happen are, for example, when you are driving slowly in inner-city traffic, when you are cruising at moderate speed on a flat motorway or when you are going down hill. This saves a considerable amount of fuel, which is clearly a great saving to you.

However, there are times when you have to have more power than the batteries can give you, for example, when accelerating hard, when overtaking or when climbing a hill. At times such as these, the electric motor will close down and the combustion engine will take over and start supplying power to the accelerator and electricity to the batteries. When the need for extra power has ceased, the batteries will take over again.

These choices are all taken by the hybrid electric vehicle’s (HEV’s) on board computer system and you will not notice much other that a rush of power or a quietening of the propulsion system. This works very well in most scenarios, but some drivers of HEV’s would like to have a manual override for abnormal circumstances, such as an undulating terrain.

All in all, cars with hybrid electric engines work very well at reducing fuel bills but they are still too dear to be much more than a gimmicky toy and a salve to the conscience for the well-to-do.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece writes on many topics, but is at present concerned with hybrid electric engines. If you would like to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at New Hybrid Vehicles.

 

The Hybrid Car and Gas Prices

The appeal and popularity of the hybrid car have grown steadily, especially with the growing worries about high gas prices as well as worsening air pollution. Here are some useful bits of information that might help you learn more about hybrid cars and how they may help you save on gas and be somewhat protected from rising petrol.

A hybrid car is the type of car, or any other vehicle, that makes use of at least two different fuel sources to make it run. Both fuel sources are used together sometimes to help propel the vehicle more efficiently. There are several different combinations of hybrid car possible, but the most common hybrid car so far is the gas-electric hybrid.

The gas-electric hybrid car, also known as the hybrid electric vehicle or HEV, makes use of a gasoline internal combustion engine or ICE and a quite separate electric motor to power it. While the ICE makes uses petrol to make it go, an electric battery is used to store the electrical energy that powers the hybrid car’s electric engine.

The HEV usually has a gas engine that is smaller in size and weight than the conventional one used in standard petrol powered cars. Use of more advanced technology makes this possible and allows the HEV to have better running efficiency as well as substantially reduced polluting emissions.

Apart from the gas engine, the hybrid electric car also has a specially designed electric motor built in that not only produces additional power to the car but also acts as a generator when it is not being used. The electric motor acts as a generator, in situations when it is not being used to drive the hybrid car, to help charge the battery for added efficiency.

In a usual HEV set up, the car uses its electric motor when being driven at very low speeds, say, in traffic jams. The gasoline engine acts as a secondary power source when the HEV requires much more power, such as when climbing a hill. The petrol engine also compensates the electric motor with power whenever the car needs it in order to go faster such as when overtaking. The gas and the electric motor can also work together at certain instances if needed.

Since the hybrid electric car makes use of both an electric motor as well as a gas motor, a substantial improvement in car mileage is achieved. A hybrid electric vehicle or HEV can run longer distances using the same amount of fuel compared to a conventional petrol powered car.

When the electric motor is being employed, gas consumption is reduced. This results in quite a bit less gas being used when running the same distance as a traditional gas powered vehicle. And since the hybrid electric car has a smaller, lighter petrol engine, the hybrid car also runs more efficiently because of less engine weight compared to a conventional car’s heavier engine.

The moving parts of the hybrid car engine are also smaller and so require less energy to move. The resulting efficiency makes the hybrid electric car quite a great option for people worried about higher gas prices. Using a hybrid car can help drivers save a large amount of petrol when traveling. On top of that, using the hybrid car can also help in reducing polluting emissions by using less gas while travelling.

If you want to know more about the technology of New Hybrid Vehicles, you should visit our web resource where there is tons of information on http://new-hybrid-vehicles.com