PHEV Concept
Hybrid Electric Vehicles are already efficient cars since they can operate on both electricity and gasoline. Electric motors have their highest power (torque) at low speed. Internal combusion engines (ICE) on the other hand have almost no power at low speeds. That's why large transmissions are needed to convert the high speed of the engine into low speed, high torque to drive the car at slow speeds. Hybrid Electric Vehicles convert the otherwise wasted kinetic energy during braking and downhill grades into electricity by operating the motor backwards so it becomes a generator. Then the car uses this energy to help the engine to it's job with less gasoline. Normally in traditional ICE vehicles kinetic energy is wasted as heat at the brake pads.Actually, electricity is an excellent fuel source for most things INCLUDING vehicles. It's dependable, clean, quiet, smooth, can be made without any pollution whatsoever AND it's cheaper than gasoline on a per mile basis. Unfortunately, although Hybrid Electric Vehicles use electricity the only way it's generated is from burning gasoline - a very inefficient way to make electricity.
Plug-In Hybrids have larger battery storage for electricity and include a charger so electric fuel can be added from your home using a regular plug. This enables you to add electricity to your car at night and each day when you leave your home you have a full "tank" of electricity. For all your local, low speed trips (school, work, shopping) is entirely or mostly electrically powered. Your car is quiet, smooth, and clean.
This technology is so simple any automotive engineer would quickly understand it. It utilizes existing off the shelf parts so automakers could easily modify existing hybrid models to convert them to Plug-In Hybrids.
Most aftermarket conversions to date have been done to vehicles utilizing the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system and modify very little of the existing vehicle architecture. On the
Toyota Prius, these conversions utilize feature that's not available on U.S. versions of the car. This feature is called "EV mode" or "Electric Vehicle Mode" and boasts a button to the left of the steering
wheel that allows drivers to force the car to drive using electricity allow, albeit for a short distance due to the proposely undersized battery in the car. Even though the button does not exist on U.S.
version of the Prius, the computer is prepared to accept an actuation signal at one of it's connectors.
The stock Prius uses only 400 watt-hours of it's already undersized 1.2 KWH OEM battery. The programming in the Prius will prevent the OEM battery from going above 80% state of charge and under 45% state of charge. Once the battery reaches the lower limits of this range, the EV mode is inhibited. Most PHEV conversions add a second 4-8KWH battery pack to charge the OEM battery on the fly and keep it in a state of charge that will allow EV mode for greater distances. Depending on the type of batteries used in a PHEV conversion, the electric vehicle range of the converted Prius is between 15-30 miles which can provide transportation for most, if not all, trips.
If the automakers were to honestly put effort into making Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles they would be cheaper, safer and more efficient than anything aftermarket conversions represent. Individuals thinking about an aftermarket conversion should seriously consider the risks and warnings presented on this site and elsewhere.
