Hybrid cars are quite different from normal cars. They move with the aid of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. A hybrid car starts like a regular car. The electric motor aids the common internal combustion engine to work effectively thus minimizing the amount of fuel that is used.
A hybrid car switches from battery power to petrol power at a speed of 15 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour if you drive slowly. The slower you move, the less petrol you use thus helping you save fuel. It is not all hybrids that automatically switch from battery power to petrol power by themselves. For example, the latest version of the Prius Gen2 allows new car owners to choose their preferred drive modes–but this technique does not work for all hybrids.
There are some hybrids like the Toyota Prius that are very popular. It has a petrol engine and an electric motor that works differently from each other. So, that means, the car is powered by either or both the electric engine and the electric motor. When the car is at low speed, the car is powered solely by the electric motor but if the car is at a high speed, the car uses both the petrol engine and the electric motor. The battery power will help the petrol engine, thus minimizing the need for additional power to be made by burning additional fuel. So, for this hybrid, the driver is not in charge of switching from battery power to petrol power. For a hybrid car like the Honda Civic IMA, it uses both methods. This car is more effective when it is used at a high speed, but it makes use of the petrol engine more.
Hybrids are more efficient when used for medium and short journeys. For example, going to and from work during weekdays. Hybrids are usually very expensive to buy but their road tax costs and company car taxes which are the running costs are quite low. High mileage users save more on their hybrid cars unlike purchasing the equivalent petrol model.
When petrol engines are at a standstill, they are not very efficient but an electrical engine is more efficient thereby supplying the hybrid with more power. The petrol engines of hybrid cars are reduced while the electric motors in them are larger to promote faster acceleration. So, enhanced power from rest minimizes acceleration strains from the petrol engine, thus saving fuel and improving efficiency too.
Like we mentioned earlier, there are many hybrids in the market and every model has its unique features. And except you are driving a new model such as the Prius Gen2, your hybrid car will choose when to switch between battery and engine modes for you. The 08 FEH 4WD that is mostly found in the United States of America has a distinct system where it warms up the battery cell when it is abandoned outside the house under high temperatures. As it gradually charges and discharges the cells of the car, it can warm about ten degrees Fahrenheit for each ten to fifteen minutes of drive time.
You should also know that electric motors are more effective when they are at lesser speeds while petrol engines are more effective at higher speeds but they do better when they work together. In hybrid cars, electric motors are used more when they when one is driving around town at lower speeds. So, that way, the petrol engine is more effective at a high speed and is in control on the motorway. The electric motor and petrol engine work together at different amounts of a drive so, there is no particular point where the electric motor goes off and the petrol engine kicks in.
Also, the Lexus hybrid does not allow you to switch between battery power and petrol power. It switches automatically between electric power and gas by itself based on driving conditions and load requirements. But for the LS hybrid, a driver can manually switch to EV mode, which permits the car to move, by mainly using the electric motor for short distances trips around residential areas or the garage.
When all hybrids are gradually coming to a stop, they run only on the electric motor, so no carbon dioxide gas is produced, thereby saving the environment from air pollution and the driver from spending so much on fuel.
When the usual internal combustion engine of a hybrid car is on, it helps the electric batteries to get charged. There is a method called regenerative braking in hybrids, it is a term that is used when a hybrid car is slowing–here, the electric motor is utilized as a brake. So, when a driver brakes, the energy that is generated as a result of braking is converted to power which is stored in the electric batteries. Then, the stored power is transferred to the electric motor when it is needed. When a car is slowing down, the petrol engine is switched off.
What Is a Hybrid car battery?
A hybrid car works using a gas-powered motor with an electric hybrid battery. This battery is rechargeable and it has enough power to make a car move.
Hybrid cars have both the technology of an electric car and that of conventional cars. Hybrids use a twelve-volt battery that is made of lead acid with gasoline that is similar to that of a regular car. The electric battery in it supplies it with energy. A hybrid car can switch effortlessly between the two power sources in it that the driver may not even notice the transition.
An obvious disadvantage that a hybrid battery has is that its life span is short. Many hybrid batteries have a one hundred thousand-mile or eight years warranty but they don’t last for that long. Hybrids cannot move efficiently except with the aid of a hybrid battery, so hybrid car owners buy recently made hybrid batteries often, and this is one of the major reasons why it is very expensive to maintain a hybrid car.
The beautiful thing about hybrid cars is that it never stops evolving. Some contemporary hybrid batteries are stronger than their previous models.
The batteries in hybrid cars have two electrodes that are found inside an electrolyte compartment. The electrodes are distinguished using a polymer layer which hinders brief-circuiting. The electrodes are connected as soon as the hybrid car is switched on. You should know that a hybrid car’s battery is a bundle of batteries that has many cells working collaboratively to produce the large charge that is needed for the hybrid to be powered.
Also, every cell of a hybrid’s car battery has a negative and positive electrode. The positively charged electrodes contain ions that are transported to the negative electrode. Then, the ions that are positive collect the electrons which the electrode that is negative gives up and at the end of the complicated process, electrical charges are created.
Usually, it is the energy that a hybrid car’s battery creates that ascertains the range of electricity that the car is able to produce. It is the current power from the battery of an electric car at a particular moment that controls the acceleration of the car.
Major parts of a hybrid electric car
- Transmission: The transmission moves mechanical power from the electric traction motor or engine to drive the wheels.
- Traction battery pack: This part of a hybrid electric car stores electricity so that the electric traction motor can easily use it.
- Auxiliary battery: In a hybrid car, the low-voltage auxiliary battery makes electricity available so that it can be used to start the car before the traction battery starts working; it is also used for powering a car’s accessories.
- Electric generator: This component of a hybrid car creates electricity from the rotating wheels while braking, it transfers that energy back to the traction battery pack.
- Gasoline fuel tank: The gasoline fuel tank stores gasoline on board until when the engine wants to use it.
- Spark-ignited internal combustion engine: In this engine, fuel is poured either into the combustion chamber or the intake manifold, and then it combines with air. The fuel mixture or air is ignited using the spark from a spark plug.
- Power electronics controller: This is the component of a hybrid car that controls the flow of electrical energy that is delivered by the traction battery, managing the speed of the electric traction motor and the torque it creates.
- Exhaust system: The exhaust system manages the exhaust gases from the engine out through the tailpipe. A 3-way catalyst is created to minimize the engine-out emissions within the exhaust system.
- Fuel filler: This is a tube from a fuel dispenser that is joined to the receptacle on the car to fill the tank.
- Cooling thermal system: This system helps to maintain a normal operating temperature range of the power electronics, electric motor, engine, and other parts of the car.
- Electric traction motor: This component helps to drive the wheels of the electric car with the aid of the traction battery pack. Certain hybrids make use of motor generators that carry out the functions of both regeneration and drive.
- DC/DC converter: This component transforms higher-voltage DC power from the traction battery pack to the lower-voltage DC power that is required to run the electric car accessories and also keep the auxiliary battery recharged.
Conclusion
An average hybrid car switches from battery power to petrol power at a speed of fifteen miles per hour to thirty miles per hour if you drive slowly. If you move slowly, you will not consume much fuel. Most hybrids cannot automatically switch from battery power to petrol power by themselves. But the newer model of the Prius Gen2 allows new car owners to choose their preferred drive modes–but this technique does not work for all hybrids.