All About Hybrid Electric Cars

Most people are interested what hybrid electric cars are all about and how the stuff works. To put it simply, hybrid electric cars are party battery-electric and part conventional cars. The underlying technology of all hybrid vehicles is the utilization of a short-term energy storage device (like a battery), which allows the main engine to be operated at close to its maximum efficiency. In hybrids, the wheels can be either directly powered by the engine or from a battery-powered electric drive-train. In both forms, when the engine loading is low, the surplus energy is gathered for later use. When the car needs to have more energy, the main engine and the energy storage drive operates together to bring the needed energy. Through this, hybrids have better fuel economy and reduced emissions.

Hybrid electric cars are labeled either as ‘mild’ or ‘strong’ to indicate the degree of battery power integrated into the design, with strong hybrids having the ability to spend more time in electric-only mode. Numerous hybrid electric cars perform in electric mode at low speeds, which makes them recommended for city driving. Battery storage allows the use of regenerative braking which replenishes the battery when braking, further lessening overall fuel consumption. Fuel is delivered from fuel pumps in the same method as those of conventional cars. Indeed, the greatest upside of gasoline-powered hybrid cars is that they also use the same type of regular gasoline.

Hybrid electric cars can function as a good middle ground between conventional gasoline-powered cars and pure electricity-run cars. It can also become an excellent transition point before people become accustomed to driving electric cars. It is especially important today as the prices of electric cars are still too expensive, before they can become part of the mainstream. Since the driving range and fuel economy of hybrids is superior to conventional cars, there is no limit on the applications for which they can be utilized. With no technical barriers to their use, hybrid electric cars therefore possess great potential to become the new standard automotive technology of the next decade.