Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Planning to go green and buy a hybrid? You have to know a few things first to make sure that you’re getting an efficient one that best suits your needs. Hybrid vehicles come in many forms today and also operate through various means and mechanisms. Here are some guidelines which will help you select the right one.
What Technologies are Available?
1. Idle-off capability is when the engine automatically shuts down when the hybrid vehicle is braking, idling or coasting. The engine can also easily turn back on once the driver releases the brake and steps on the accelerator.
2. Regenerative braking is when the electric motor takes over when the car is slowing down. It also doubles as a generator in which energy lost while the hybrid vehicle is braking can be converted into electric power that recharges the battery.
3. Power assist and engine downsizing is when the electric motor kicks in to help move the car during acceleration. The size of the engine is virtually smaller since both the electric motor and engine combine in providing power.
4. Electric-only is when the electric motor solely provides power for the vehicle when running at low speeds or when starting.
5. Extended battery-electric range is when the electric motor can provide power for the vehicle when running over a distance of 20 to 60 miles. Afterwards, the battery can easily be recharged by plugging into an external electric power source. The gasoline engine kicks in after the range has been covered by the electric motor.
Learn how to define the type of hybrid vehicle you are getting. Mild hybrids use the first three technologies mentioned earlier while full hybrids use the first four. There are also plug-in hybrid vehicles that use all five but are not yet available to the general public.
There are muscle hybrids that come in the form of SUVs which are more cost-effective and environmentally friendly compared to their conventional counterparts. Some hybrid vehicles may use only one or two technologies but still aim to improve mileage and ecological effects.
Questions to Ask
Is it fuel efficient? What is the average range that the electric motor can cover before the gasoline engine kicks in? Does it have idle-off capability? Check the gas mileage and engine size to determine if the hybrid vehicle you are getting can truly help you save more. Some hybrid vehicles are very mild in which a minor technology may only be incorporated. Saving even 1 to 2 gallons of fuel a day more can be quite cost-effective.
Is it environmentally friendly? Check the emission of the vehicle. Hybrids should have very low or zero emission which minimizes the risk of exhausting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Find out the electric motor capabilities since these are the times when gasoline byproducts are prevented and reduced. There are various sources of power available which reduce pollutants like fuel cells, hydrogen and electricity. Find out if any of these are incorporated in your vehicle.
What are its other features? Check the interior and exterior of the hybrid vehicle just as you would when buying a conventional one. Determine if the size is right for your or your family, determine the quality of the materials used if the overall structure is safe for highway driving and compare the advantages and key features with other models. Some hybrids don’t look as stylish as gas models but there are also hybrids that look exactly like their conventional counterparts.
How much is it? The initial sum of buying a hybrid vehicle is usually higher compared to conventional cars. However, you will discover that you can easily make up for the initial cost by saving more on fuel. Again, you need to check the mileage, rate of consumption and possible tax deductions to see if the hybrid can really be cost-effective in the years to come. Also consider repair and maintenance expenses in the future.
Advantages to Look for When Selecting
The United States Federal government provides significant tax breaks to individuals who opt for hybrid vehicles. The tax break will depend on the tax bracket once the buyer sends a file. There are states that provide special parking areas as well for hybrid vehicles so drivers get to save more on parking fees. Some insurance policies may provide special offers to owners of hybrids on repair and maintenance too.
There are SULEVs or super ultra low-emission vehicles, ULEVs or ultra low-emission vehicles and PZEVs or partial zero emission vehicles that are very clean and quiet. Drivers get to enjoy smooth and peaceful driving without the environmental hazards and risks. Some of the largest automobile manufacturers are greatly investing in hybrids with very stylish and powerful models that can go up against the best gasoline-powered ones.
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Monday, April 12th, 2010
Most hybrid cars are made for fuel efficiency but you can further squeeze extra miles out of a gallon of gasoline buy adapting the same good driving habits you do in your gasoline-engine vehicles.
1. Go easy on the brakes. Your hybrid car has the regenerative braking system that recaptures the energy lost from braking and stores it back to your batteries. If you brake slowly, you give your electric motor more time to store power thus, recovering more energy back to the batteries. If you brake hard and abrupt, the regenerative braking system will not be able to recapture much of this energy and your brakes will take most of the work.
2. Drive at slow speed. When you drive at a slow speed, you are running the electric motor. This saves a lot of gas. Also high speed driving requires your engine to produce extra power to drive the car forward and push it through the air. This consumes more gas just to overcome the aerodynamic drag. (Take note: the air is much denser on snowy, rainy, and slushy conditions. This makes the engine consumes more fuel to push the vehicle through the air.)
3. Avoid quick acceleration. The electric motor can only give your car a certain amount of power. When you require more speed and step on the gas pedal, the combustion engine kicks in to provide that extra speed you need, thus consuming more fuel. Quick acceleration in gasoline- or diesel-engine car wastes a lot of energy and so with hybrid vehicles. If you need to accelerate, do it gradually if possible.
4. Check your tire pressure. Tires are made to improve safety and the quality of the ride. It is not actually made for efficiency but you can actually use the tire to significantly improve your gas mileage. Use and maintain the maximum recommended tire pressure for your car on the sidewall and not the psi supplied by the manufacturer on the doorframe. Also use low-resistance tires for better mileage.
5. Avoid rush hour. Stop-and-go traffic consumes a lot of gas.
6. Use low octane gasoline. Not only it is cheaper, vehicles are actually designed to run well on low octane gas. Check your manual.
7. Glide. If you are comfortable with driving back and forth to neutral, you can get the best out of your speed. Coasting in neutral gives you a longer cruise and better use of energy.
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Friday, April 9th, 2010
You probably own a gasoline- or diesel-engine car. You may have heard of electric vehicles too. A hybrid vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a combination of both. Hybrid vehicles utilize two or more sources of energy for propulsion. In the case of HEVs, a combustion engine and an electric motor are used.
How it works depends on the type of drive train it has. A hybrid vehicle can either have a parallel or series or parallel-series drive train.
Parallel Hybrid
The parallel hybrid car has a gas tank, a combustion engine, transmission, electric motor, and batteries.
A parallel hybrid is designed to run directly from either the combustion engine or the electric motor. It can run using both the engine and the motor. As a conventional vehicle, the parallel hybrid draws its power from the combustion engine which will then drive the transmission that turns the wheels. If it is using the electric motor, the car draws its power from the batteries. The energy from the batteries will then power the electric motor that drives the transmission and turns the wheel.
Both the combustion engine and the electric motor are used at the same time during quick acceleration, on steep ascend, or when either the engine or the motor needs additional boost.
Since the engine is directly connected to the wheels in a parallel drive train, it eliminates the inefficiency of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy and back. This makes a very effective vehicle to drive on the highway.
Series Hybrid
The series hybrid car also has a gas tank, a combustion engine, transmission, electric motor, and batteries with the addition of the generator. The generator can be the electric motor or it can be another separate component.
The series configuration is the simplest among the 3. The engine is not connected to the transmission rather it is connected to the electric motor. This means that the transmission can be driven only by the electric motor which draws its energy from the battery pack, the engine or the generator.
A hybrid car with a series drive train is more suited for city driving conditions since the engine will not be subjected to the varying speed demands (stop, go, and idle) that contributes to fuel consumption.
Series-Parallel Hybrid
The series-parallel configuration solves the individual problems of the parallel and series hybrid. By combining the 2 designs, the transmission can be directly connected to the engine or can be separated for optimum fuel consumption. The Toyota Prius and the Ford Escape Hybrid use this technology.
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Friday, April 9th, 2010
Hybrid cars can run from 20mpg to 60mpg. How do they do it? Aside from using both the electric motor and combustion engine to draw propulsion, hybrid cars have several tricks to squeeze every mile out of each gallon of gasoline. Hybrid electric vehicles have:
Lightweight materials. One of the surest ways to increase the mileage of the car is to reduce its overall weight. The lighter the car is, the higher the fuel mileage will be. So instead of steel, lightweight materials such as magnesium and aluminum or composite materials like carbon fibers are used for hybrid vehicles.
Smaller engine. The weight of the car is directly related to its fuel consumption. And because larger engines are relatively heavier, they require more energy just to propel their own weight, thus consuming more fuel. Also big engines have large cylinder displacement that requires more fuel just to stop.
Since hybrid vehicles utilize other sources of power, they do not require large engines. Instead, the smaller and lighter engine equates to better fuel mileage. The Honda Civic Hybrid, for example uses a 1.3 L iVTEC 4-cylinder engine as opposed to the typical 1.8 L or 2.0 L engine for the non-hybrid counterpart.
Improved aerodynamics. When you are driving at a high speed, most work of the engine goes into pushing the car through the air. Hybrid cars are designed in such away that its frontal area chops through the air, reducing drag and increasing fuel economy. The Honda Insight is the best example of how a car can increase its fuel mileage by using a smoother aerodynamic design.
Energy conservation. Since hybrid cars do not rely solely on internal combustion engines that run continuously even at stops, they can shut off the engine temporarily whenever do not need it. It will automatically turn on when you step on the gas pedal.
Energy recovery. Much of the energy is lost when braking, more so at high speeds. Hybrid vehicles are designed to recapture this lost energy and store it back in the battery to be used later.
Special tires. Tires are specifically used to minimize noise, provide a smooth ride, and give good traction in different weather conditions. But tires are rarely used to optimize efficiency. They cause a great deal of drag while driving. Hybrid cars on the other hand use low-rolling resistance tires. They are inflated to a higher air pressure and are stiffer which result in reduced drag and better fuel efficiency.
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