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How Do Hybrid Cars Work?

By: Anton Rowd

The Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) is quite a marvel. Even as a work in progress, it has improved the gas-dependence situation and has saved many from having to spend so much on fossil fuels and has even helped save some taxpayer money.

What is it under the hybrid car hood that is seems to set it apart from the other cars? Let's take a peep and try to take a look at just how these wonders called the hybrid cars work.

What's In The Combination?

It's all in the keyword, "hybrid." A hybrid car simply brings out all the best in fuel economy and consumption and in the electrical power under the hood. By combining both a gas engine and an electrical motor, the combination allows the vehicle to switch back and forth between these two energy sources. However, the usual case is that a hybrid car really depends primarily on the battery and electrical motors to run the whole thing.

You may ask what the gas is for. The car will still need gas to operate an engine that charges the battery which, in turn, runs the whole car. However, the good thing about this set up is that not much gas is required to charge up those batteries. Hence, hybrid cars really only need so much gas to fill their significantly smaller gas tanks and therefore saves people from having to cash out so much on gas.

The Distance

To understand how a hybrid car really works, you would need to take one for a spin on a full tank and compare the results in distance and mileage with a vehicle that runs on gas alone. Definitely, you will observe the world of difference in vehicles running on electric motors. Running great distances is easily achieved in the way how a hybrid car works. There are basically 3 technologies that makes this possible.

The first innovative technology used in hybrid cars is the regenerative braking that applies resistance to the drive train. This in turn causes the wheels to slow down. The energy from the wheels turns the engine which in real time acts as generator which converts the energy wasted during coasting and braking into electricity. The electricity is then accumulated in a battery until such time when it is needed by other functions in the electric motor.

The next technology is known as elect motor assist and it provides additional power to assist the engine in acceleration like when speeding up or ascending. This means that the smaller engine (electric motor) is used and is more efficient than an internal combustion engine that requires and burns a lot of gas.

Another hybrid car technology that is beginning to pick up in a lot of modern hybrid car is the automatic start and shutdown. This technology allows a hybrid vehicle to stop in the middle of traffic or at a stoplight, thus, shutting down the whole engine as well, ultimately preventing the engine from wasting energy and fuel from just being idle. When the accelerator is stepped on again, the engine will start up automatically and acceleration is made available. It's a clever option that is ideal for city driving. When combined, these three technologies spell how hybrid cars work.