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How Do Hybrids Work?

With gas prices soaring, so has the interest in the Hybrid car. Let's take a quick tour of the Hybrid car.

Often tauted as the Green machine, Hybrids have led the way to reduced emissions and improved gas mileage. The typical Hybrid is a combination of engine and electric motor. The additional horsepower from the electric motor assist, enables the use of smaller engines, further reducing emissions and improving gas mileage.

Contrary to popular belief, these Hybrids do not require to be plugged in to charge the batteries. The batteries on-board are recharged by the kinetic energy produced when braking, and by the engine.

Full versus Mild Hybrids
There are two types of Hybrids: full Hybrids and mild Hybrids. Full Hybrids allow both the engine and electric motor to work together to drive the car, or either separately. When at a stop, the engine is turned off. When moving forward, the electric motor only drives the car. Examples of this type Hybrid are Toyota, Lexis, Ford.

Mild Hybrids always use the gasoline engine to drive the vehicle with an assist from the battery powered electric motor. The electric motor is generally smaller, since it does not drive the vehicle by itself (as in the Full Hybrid). The engine is turned off only when the vehicle is at a standstill. This type Hybrid is offered by General Motors and Honda.

Parallel versus Series Hybrid
Still struggling with Full vs. Mild? The next set of terms, Parallel vs. Series, is guaranteed to add to the confusion. I will try my best to keep it simple.

In a parallel Hybrid, the fuel tank supplies power to the gasoline engine while at the same time the battery provides the power to the electric motors. Both the engine and motors can be used to drive the vehicle together.

For the series Hybrid, the gasoline engine simply charges the on-board batteries which power the electric motors. The motors are used solely to drive the vehicle, not the engine.

All Hybrids today are parallel Hybrids. In the near future, with the introduction of the Chevy Volt, we will have a series Hybrid. More precisely, a pluggable series Hrybrid.

Pluggable Hybrids
While the pluggable Hybrid does not need to be plugged in (this is optional), the ability to do so will enable the batteries to be recharged while the vehicle is not in use. This will greatly extend the Hybrid's range; a limitation in the past with all electric vehicles.

Hydrogen Hybrids
Unlike the Hybrids above which employ batteries and electric motors as the alternate source to drive the vehicle, the Hydrogen Hybrid will use Hydrogen gas to supplement the gasoline in the tank. This approach is most often found in fleet vehicles. Also called an on-demand system, the engine generates the power to create the Hydrogen gas through the electrolysis of Water.

The gas produced by this system is more accurately called OxyHydrogen (HHO). HHO is mixed with the gasoline within the engine's cylnder, resulting in a better burn rate and BTUs. The resulting improved combustion increases the output of the engine, thus reducing fuel consumption. The biggest advantage of Hydrogen Hybrids is the ease and low cost for converting existing vehicles.

Article Source: http://www.particlearticles.com

For those who would like to learn more about Hydrogen Hybrids, then select the How Do Hybrid Cars Work. If you'd like to learn about inexpensive kits to convert their vehicles to Hydrogen Hybrids then select Run Your Car on Water

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