Interdisciplinary
Minor in Global Sustainability
Senior Seminar
(Instructor: Peter A. Bowler)
University of California, Irvine, February 2002
HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles)
By Margaret Faoro
“The HEV [Hybrid Electric Vehicle] concept goes back to 1905. On November 23 of that year, American engineer H. Piper filed for a patent on a hybrid vehicle. Piper’s design called for an electric motor to augment a gasoline engine…”(1, pg 2) and thus, the HEV was born. Hybrid Electric Vehicles, otherwise known as HEVs are vehicles that “combine the internal combustion engine of a conventional vehicle with the battery and electric motor of an electric vehicle”(2).
In this day and age car manufactures are trying to out-compete one another in terms of car features and sales. Technology has come a long way since 1905 but the principle is still the same: to produce hybrid vehicles that not only can compete with standard vehicles in terms of price and available features, but that also offer better mileage and less pollution. One may understand why hybrid vehicles are a good choice, but one may not understand why more auto manufacturers have turned to hybrids instead of electric vehicles. “HEVs do not share an electric vehicle’s main drawback: limited range between chargings. The few thousand electric vehicles on the roads in the U.S… can travel only about 80 miles before their batteries need recharging, which can take anywhere from three to eight hours”(1, pg1). For those who do not wish to be constrained by having to charge up batteries and worry about mileage, HEVs are the next logical choice.
There are two different types of hybrid vehicles: parallel and designated series. The following is a good description of each :
“In a series hybrid, the internal combustion engine drives a generator that charges the batteries, which power the electric motor. Only this electric motor can directly turn the vehicle’s driveshaft. In a parallel hybrid, on the other hand, either the engine or the motor can directly torque the driveshaft”(1, pg 3).
Those who may doubt the potential for HEVs may ask: “Why HEVs”? The Office of Transportation Technologies makes the following points about HEVs:
“The practical benefits of HEVs include improved fuel economy and lower emissions compared to conventional vehicles…Hybrids will never be true zero-emission vehicles, however, because of their internal combustion engine. But the first hybrids on the market will cut emissions of global warming pollutants by a third to a half, and later models may cut emissions by even more”(2).
Although hybrid vehicles are not zero emission vehicles, they are a very good alternative to the conventional vehicles that are on the road today. With the capability to have a higher fuel economy and emit lower amounts of pollution, hybrids are strong contenders against such vehicles as SUVs (sports utility vehicles).
Another advantage that HEVs have is that they are competitively priced with other vehicles on the market today.
“The HEVs available for sale are very cost competitive with similar conventional vehicles. Any cost premium that may be associated with HEVs of the future can be off-set by overall fuel savings and possible incentives”(2).
As a result of not having a very high price tag, in comparison with standard vehicles, HEVs are proving to be strong competitors against non-hybrid vehicles.
Below are two examples of hybrid electric vehicles that are being offered by major car manufacturers.
“Debuting in Model Year 2000, the [Honda] Insight was America’s first mass produced gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle. Achieving an outstanding 61 mpg [miles per gallon] city and 68 mpg highway, Insight is the most fuel-efficient gasoline-powered vehicle in the world”(3).
“[Toyota] Prius is so clean-burning that it has been certified as a super ultra low emission vehicle (SULEV), an achievement due not only to its sophisticated hybrid system…but to its entire design with focuses on energy efficiencies”(4).
The Environmental Protection Agency’s web site provides the emission and air pollution scores that various vehicles have been given. For example, the manual version of the Honda Insight was rated as having the best emission/ air pollution levels (“emitting from 0- 1.0 pounds of smog-forming pollution per 15,000 miles”) (6). Compared to the Chevrolet Tahoe, which emits from “63.8- 121.1 pounds of smog-forming pollution per 15,000 miles”(6). By looking at the numbers it is obvious that hybrid vehicles are a very efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative to SUVs and other conventional vehicles that are on the road today.
Toyota and Honda are not the only car manufacturers that are producing HEVs. There are several HEVs that are in the process of development or that are not yet available in the U.S. Some examples of upcoming SUVs include the DaimlerChrysler Citadel and ESX3, GM’s Chevrolet Triax, General Motor’s Precept as well as Mitsubishi’s HV. With technology continually advancing, HEVs are almost certain to become more common on the road in the future (7).
It seems that HEVs will become more prominent in the car market within the next few years. Competitive prices combined with low pollution and high fuel efficiency means that hybrids provide several benefits to not only the consumers but to the environment as well. Hybrid vehicles emit significantly less pollutants than do standard cars and trucks and their fuel efficiency is also a positive aspect that can attract consumers who are interested in saving money. As technology advances and hybrid technologies becomes more efficient it seems that the HEV “could be- - and in fact should be - - the car of the near future”(1).
Sources:
1) Online version of Scientific American article, by Wouk, Victor. October 1997.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles: http://www.sciam.com/1097issue/1097wouk.html
2) http://www.ott.doe.gov/hev/what.html
3) http://www.honda2001.com/models/2001/environment.html
4) http://prius.toyota.com/technology/hybrid.html
5) http://prius.toyota.com/green/index.html
6) http://www.epa.gov/autoemissions/
7) http://www.ott.doe.gov/hev/concept.html