Hybrid cars- How they operate

Hybrid cars- How they operate

Many people might not know what exactly a hybrid car is and how it works. First of all, it is very crucial to understand that a hybrid car is not the same as an electric vehicle. A hybrid automotive can be quite different from the upcoming plug-in hybrids. Today’s hybrid auto is an amalgam of an electric motor with a gasoline powered combustion engine. In an electric vehicle there is set of batteries that supplies energy to the electric motor that runs the wheels, whereas in gas powered vehicle, heat energy is generated by burning gasoline that powers the engine. In the hybrid electric vehicles, there are 3 different models, the series hybrids, the parallel hybrids and the split hybrids.

Unlike a battery powered automobile or in short electric car, the hybrid comprises of an internal combustion engine, though it adds other electric components such as batteries and motors to boost efficiency and utilize some of the energy wasted in an internal  combustion engine.

Parallel hybrids are those vehicles that combine both internal combustion engine as well as electric motor to generate energy to run the wheels. There are some modified models that are quite different from the plug in hybrids that are expected to be launched in the automotive market in the near future.

In some gas electric hybrids the internal combustion gives maximum thrust and the electric motor provides additional power for accelerating, or while climbing hills. This mechanical approach typically allows a smaller internal combustion engine and greater MPG. The electric motor is often the only source of propulsion in low speed conditions, such as driving in the city roads.

Moreover, at the risk of over simplification, a plug in hybrid is basically reverse engineered. In simple words, the electric motor provides heavy lifting power while the combustion engine provides the additional energy after the energy generated by electric motor has been used up.