Hybrid electric vehicle or HEV, as it is called, runs partly on fuel and partly on electrical power. At this time when oil reserves are getting depleted quickly due to increased usage, HEV helps reduce the requirement of fuel for transportation purposes. It also helps to keep vehicular pollution down and hence reduces green house effect.
Working of HEV
HEV consists of an additional onboard rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) along with the propulsion system found in conventional vehicles.
In ordinary vehicles, a lot of energy is wasted during idling, braking and due to energy losses in big sized engines. But with RESS in place, all this energy which would have been normally wasted is collected and utilized effectively. This reduces the requirement for additional energy, and hence for additional fuel.
HEV usually comprises of a gasoline engine combined with electric batteries. These batteries drive the electric motor which in turn drives the vehicle.
Advantages of Hybrid vehicles
a) Even if an alternate fuel source for vehicles is uncovered immediately, it will take a lot of time to modify the current design of engines to function with the new fuel properly. Hence, HEV might be the best choice for us at this moment.
b) Even though the initial cost of HEVs is high, their operating costs are lower in the long run. Since part of the energy is derived from batteries, the requirement for fuel decreases and so does the cost of maintenance.
c) Wear and tear on the engine components decreases and hence they function accurately for a longer period of time.
d) Use of electric motor for locomotion decreases noise pollution. Most of the old conventional vehicles give out a lot of noise, which causes health problems.
e) With decrease in the consumption of fuel, air pollution also decreases.
f) Engine of smaller size and power can be used, making it possible to minimize losses and improve efficiency of the HEV.
g) In some cases, the energy saved by the RESS is also used to provide additional accelerating power to the vehicle.
h) These vehicles consume less fuel than the conventional internal combustion engines. They provide 40% better fuel efficiency than conventional vehicles, making them extremely cost-effective.
HEVs are currently used for railway locomotives, trucks, buses and automobiles. More and more countries are encouraging the use of hybrid vehicles these days and are even providing incentives to buy and use these vehicles.
Clearly, people are becoming conscious of the multiple benefits that HEVs provide and view it as a good alternative to conventional gasoline or diesel run automobiles.
