County Down Outlook - Features - Hybrid Cars; Combining Conscience and Fuel Economy

Features

Hybrid Cars; Combining Conscience and Fuel Economy

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

It may not have escaped your notice but the cost of filling up at the pump is not cheap, especially as the events in the Middle East continue to grab the headlines. Petrol prices show no sign of decreasing and car-owners will have to make some serious choices when it comes to fuel efficiency. Whether you drive a sports car, a family saloon, a compact or own any one of the 4x4 cars, it may be time to consider the alternatives on offer.

The obvious solution is to start thinking about cars that provide fuel economy with a reasonable range. Hybrid cars have long been touted as the answer to a motoring society dependent on petrol and companies such as Honda have been introducing these vehicles into the market since 1999.

Honda's determination to provide eco-friendly alternatives to traditional vehicles, and reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere by generations of petrol engines has seen the company sell over 500,000 hybrid cars worldwide.

Currently there are three types of vehicle available: petrol-powered, electric and hybrid. Petrol cars have a tank that supplies the required amount of fuel to the engine, which powers the transmission and allowing the wheels to turn. Electric cars use batteries to turn the transmission and provide the motion but are reliant on being charged thereby limiting their range. Hybrids are exactly what they say on the tin; a combination of petrol power and electric battery and one that has a smaller carbon footprint.

Hybrid cars are designed to be efficient, especially if being used in heavy traffic, when idling or when experiencing constant stop/start motion. A car in motion produces kinetic energy and the faster the car goes the more energy is produced. Whenever the driver depresses the brake pedal, this action removes energy from the car and dissipates it as heat.

A hybrid car takes some of this lost energy and collects it in the electric battery to use later by a process known as regenerative braking. Put simply, the electric motor of the hybrid acts as a generator and charges the batteries while the car is slowing down. The advantages to the environment also mean that wasted energy is not just being leaked into the atmosphere, as a petrol engine will still emit carbon dioxide even when the car is not moving.

Fuel economy is another benefit of this new generation of hybrid cars UK drivers are better at getting more miles to the gallon then their American counterparts but even a relatively small vehicle will only get (on average) 30 to 35mpg. Honda believe that their hybrid cars will achieve anywhere from 56 to 64mpg, with the economical driver seeing the benefits of less aggressive driving techniques reflected in real-time fuel guidance data.

For some people, this new wave of environmentally friendly vehicles is the latest attempt by the motoring industry to sell more cars in a world still recovering from the effects of the recession. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the technology now being utilized has existed since 1900, with the first hybrid designed by Ferdinand Porsche and built by Daimler.

While the major selling points of the hybrid car are the contribution made to reducing CO2 emissions and the time spent at the petrol station, there are other benefits to consider when deciding whether to invest.

Hybrid cars have been designed with aerodynamics in mind, in other words with the intent of reducing drag through the air. Engines that need to work harder to power a car in motion are not fuel-efficient, while handling is also improved when there is less resistance.

This desire to reduce resistance has also been considered in the wheels. Most hybrids use tyres that are inflated more than regular ones with a lower rolling resistance, again improving fuel economy.

Then there are the bells and whistles that we now come to expect from a modern motor vehicle. Air conditioning and power steering now come as standard on hybrid cars but they are powered by the electric battery and not by the engine, which means that they only operate when needed.

While Hybrid cars and going green may seem like the latest trend but it is just the first step in limiting the damage that can be caused by our continued love of driving. In the near future vehicles that don't have an eco-conscience will be the odd ones out.