Friday, March 14, 2008

Hybrid Cars

by Sridhar Bn

The word hybrid represents economy and efficiency, in the car industry. The term hybrid car is used to describe a car which can use both gasoline and electricity as fuel. This mix of fuel in the hybrid car reduces your dependence on expensive and polluting gasoline.
Several car companies have started the manufacture of hybrid cars. Toyota, Ford, Honda are some of the leading car manufacturers who have come up with some exiting models of hybrid cars.
The gasoline engine provides most of the power for the hybrid car and the electric motor provides additional power. This additional power is used, when it is needed to accelerate. For any reason, the power is reduced the electric motor provides additional power for the hybrid car. This helps in the design of a more compact and efficient engine.
Two types of hybrid cars are available. They are the parallel hybrid car and the series hybrid car. The series hybrid car uses the power of gasoline to recharge the batteries by using a generator. The parallel hybrid car uses the power of gasoline and electricity together, to provide greater speed or economy. The electric motors used in a hybrid car, regenerate energy. The electric motors also control the breaking system, in hybrid cars.

Whenever brakes are applied energy is generated. This is stored in the batteries and used whenever required. No additional charge is required for the batteries of a hybrid car.
Whenever you stop at a signal the motor switches off on its own, thus conserving fuel. Hybrid cars run much smoother than the gasoline run vehicles.
Hybrid cars give 20 to 30 miles more per gallon than their gasoline counterparts. The hybrid cars have a higher price tag. But the economy of running a hybrid car, and the environmental considerations, outweighs the higher price. However, hybrid car sales have not picked up much because of the limited availability of these vehicles.

I am Sridhar. I have a masters degree in science. I used to write articles in my school and college days. I am picking up the habit once again. I am comfortable with any subject except software. I blog at http://bnsridhar.blogspot.com

No comments: