Thermal, electric and hybrid engines … there are several possibilities that exist in the market and little is known about which is more profitable. Thus, in the case of those that are hybrid cars, at the same time they help to take care of our planet thanks to their low emissions, they also allow an improved driving towards the user.
The most efficient and ecological hybrid engine
However, and despite the fact that they have a combustion engine that is combined with an electric, its operation is not the same as with traditional vehicles. The reason, precisely, has to do with that electric that accompanies the hybrid engine, so its task to perform has another meaning.
At the same time, this is something that mostly happens in two-wheelers that incorporate them. It is the case of motorcycles. Although it is true that you do not see as many as if electrics are beginning to emerge, hybrid motorcycles have a similar system to the cars.
Thus, either one or the other, a vehicle with hybrid technology it seems like an excellent solution for all times. For example, in urban traffic it can be as efficient and respectful as an electric car, but we can also make long trips since the battery recharges itself taking advantage of the inertia of the vehicle and with the energy that is recovered during braking.
In addition, these with a combined engine are usually cars that have the Zero environmental label, which means that we can circulate through the city center without restrictions. Apparently driving a hybrid car is very similar to driving a combustion vehicle, it drives like a normal passenger car and the same car calculates the level of load and power what do you need.
Therefore, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, boats, trains, airplanes and, of course, automobiles can be hybrid vehicles. The only requirement they must meet is to be powered by two engines of different nature. But what is it like and what constitutes it?
How is it and what components do they use?
The great stability of these engines are what have made a car with hybrid technology a great trail option to go electric. In fact, a large part of users who have in mind to opt for a 100% electric vehicle do so first with a hybrid one.
But let’s start at the beginning: what it is like and how it works. First of all, the basics is that a hybrid engine is the combination of two thrusters to achieve greater fuel efficiency and fewer polluting emissions, among other advantages.
Normally we talk about the combination of an electric motor and a combustion engine according to various formulas, and with this very low consumption is achieved, especially in maneuvering and driving at low speeds. Thus, the combination of a heat engine and an electric engine works as a symbiosis.
A special switchboard will be in charge of decide which motor works at all times to maintain maximum efficiency and minimize the aforementioned variables of consumption and emissions. There are different types of hybrid engines: according to their operating principle (series hybrids, combined hybrids or parallel hybrids), or according to the combination of technologies.
Also, these two power sources can work together, separately or in parallel, all depending on the type of use for which they are designed. For its operation, this type of motorization uses a series of mechanisms by way of components that are what will ensure optimal handling and operability when starting our car or motorcycle.
- Thermal engine. This type of motorization is the combination of combustion and electric propellants. Thus, the heat engine is the one that continues to lead the operation, but with a much higher efficiency. They are usually gasoline, but there are also diesel. Its power is less, but it is part of a sum. It is still connected to the gas tank that is still used normally.
- Electric motor. Depending on the model, there may be one or two electric motors in the car or motorcycle. In both cases, it will be connected to the transmission or directly to a wheel axle, in what are known as in-wheel motors.
- Batteries They are the ones that provide energy to the electric motor. Its cooling system keeps maintenance to a minimum and is complemented by the V12 battery that the car must continue to carry to start. They are usually placed in the back of the car or on the floor under the rear seats. They can be of various types: lithium ion, lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride …
- Generator. It is responsible for recovering the energy that is lost. When braking, accelerating or holding, the heat engine provides excess energy that accumulates in the battery.
- Variator. Converts the accumulated direct current in the battery into variable alternating current
- Management system. He is the one who decides what behavior is more appropriate, according to the driving at each moment, so that the car or motorcycle spends as little as possible.
How it works
As we have seen, the invention of the hybrid engine arises from the need to improve fuel economy and increase its power, combining the performance of gasoline engines with electric motors. Two power sources that can work together, separately or in parallel, depending on the type of use for which they are designed.
There, these motors are composed of a series of gears that connect each of the motors to a chain that brings movement to the wheels. In the first place, the one that starts the movement of the vehicle (motorcycle or car) is the electric motor. This is the one that turns the outer gear, gaining speed without consuming a drop of gasoline.
But, from a certain speed, the internal combustion engine is activated turning the four gears of the power divider and increasing the power of the car. From there, each of the aforementioned components begin to work, where the system is completed with a central gear connected to the generator that charges the batteries, powered by the gasoline engine and that provides extra power to the electric motor. This is the key to how the hybrid engine works.
Subsequently, the powertrain offers several different operating options, as we will see at the end of this article. There it may be that the gasoline engine moves the wheels, that it is the electric motor that moves them, or that both at the same time are in charge of sending energy to the wheels. They also have a gearboxIn this case automatic, either double clutch, torque converter or CVT type.
Types of hybridization by electrical technology
The hybrid name arises from this merger, from having two engines for certain activities inside the car. Even so, there are models that make a difference in their use and development, being the matrix of a vehicle.
But the truth is that, beyond the fact that we have new types of cars on the market, which work by means of an electrical system added to another of combustion, such as plug-in hybrids, mild-hybrid ones, micro hybrids, or plug-in hybrids (PHEV), depending on its technology, this hybrid engine can work in two ways: in parallel, in series, or in series-parallel.
After all, this is what we have always seen in the market, mainly thanks to Toyota. First with the famous Prius and then with the rest of its range, such as the emerging Corolla, which has joined the rest of the Japanese brand’s vehicles in good shape. It’s something to which its luxury brand, Lexus, has also contributed most of its models.
Hybrid in parallel
And it is that no; not all hybrid technology engines are the same. Neither for cars nor for motorcycles, bicycles, trucks … therefore, its operation is also tied to a system in series or in parallel. In the first, as such, both the electric motor and the internal combustion motor are connected to the wheels of the vehicle, but they work by their side.
There, the heat engine is the one that mainly moves the vehicle, while the electric basically helps the heat engine in its task of moving the car. Finally, the recovery of braking energy it is the main power source for the battery of these hybrids. Honda is one of the manufacturers that believed a lot in this system. In Europe, it had the Honda Insight and the Honda CR-Z, among others, on the market.
Serial hybrid
On the other hand we have those that are hybrid engines but in parallel. Here, both conventional and electric they work at the same time to transmit power to the wheels. It is a relatively simple solution, but it is not the most efficient. They are also known as semi-hybrids.
These are the cars, motorcycles and other vehicles that move exclusively with the power supplied by the electric motor. And here, the combustion engine has no mechanical connection with the wheels, it is only used to generate electricity. When the battery is full, the conventional motor is temporarily disconnected.
Series-parallel (combined)
This third type of hybrid gives the vehicle instantaneous power and jump-free acceleration, since the electric motor, powered by the battery of the hybrid system, works in combination with the gasoline engine to enhance acceleration during normal driving. Some of these cars that use the system are the Toyota C-HR, Auris Hybrid or Yaris hybrid.
Thus, series-parallel electric hybrids combine the two aforementioned systems. The battery is charged both thanks to the heat engine and regenerative braking. The gasoline engine and the electric motor are connected to the transmission separately and can move the car independently of each other or together.