From Thermal to electric

Between 1932 and 1839 Robert Anderson invented the first crude electric carriage. The carriage was powered by non-rechargeable batteries

The invention of electric starting of Cadilac in 1903 simplified the task of starting the thermal engine. Before, the task of starting a thermal engine resulted complicated and dangerous. This innovation and the invention of massive  system production in chain that came up with Ford factories in 1908 did electric vehicles got unused.

Nowadays electric vehicles is getting more and more used, overall electric vehicles are having more advantages over other technologies, some of them are:

-Facilities to perform the installation that recharges the car at home
-They are exempt from toll payment
-Electric cars can park in reserve zones and recharges it for free.

Between Thermal  and electric exist several technologies. We have it sump up in the following:

-Mild Hybrid (MHEV)
-Total Hybrid (HEV)
-Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV)

Mild Hybrid MHEV

This type of electric vehicle has a thermal motor and an electric motor. The main motor is the thermal and the electric motor is mounted over the crank. The electric motor is not be able to move the car and only is used under hard acceleration. Mild Hybrid vehicles can provides up to 10% of fuel savings.

Mild Hybrid vehicles used to come with automatic start-stop function which allow to stop the thermal engine when the car is stopped (ie. when the car is stopped at a traffic light) apart of that the electric engine is able to recharge the batteries when the car is slowing down (regenerative brake)

The main characteristic is that Mild Hybrid depend in every moment of the thermal engine, since Mild Hybrid is not capable at any time of working only with the electric motor.

Total Hybrid HEV

Hybrid are named to the vehicles which uses a combination of one electric engine and a thermal engine to make move the vehicle. unlike pure electric, Hybrid car don´t need a plug to recharge the batteries, the engine motor (generator) and a system of regenerative brakes manages to keep charged the batteries.

The operation of a Total Hybrid vehicle is the following

• Start from stationary

In general, at the beginning the electric engine moves the car, without the help of the thermal engine. Starting is the point where thermal engines are less efficient. For that reason, once the car have reached a certain speed using the electric engine, the thermal engine start and begin to deliver energy to the vehicle.

• Cruise speed

When the car is at the cruise speed and the driver is not accelerating, the thermal engine is at its optimal point working, it can move the vehicle and charge the batteries at the same time.

• Decelerate or brake

When the hybrid vehicle decelerate or brake, the thermal engine stop and use the regenerative brake to recharge the batteries

In short, the key to the operation lies in the fact that the battery acts as an electric energy store. It accumulates when left over and returns it when the driver starts, demands great acceleration or for slow circulation

Plug-in Hybrid PHEV

This type of hybrid vehicle allows to plug the car to the electric network to recharge the batteries.

The batteries can be recharged when the vehicle is stopped or using the regenerative brake.

The main difference is that a larger battery is mounted, with much more capacity than the total hybrid.

A total hybrid car usually has a battery of 1 to 2 kWh capacity, while a plug-in hybrid car usually has a battery, from 5 to 12 kWh capacity, again approximately, and in general terms, because it can vary depending on the model what we consider.

If we compare a  Plug-in Hybrid against a Total hybrid, Plug in Hybrid used to be more efficient in consumption terms. Plug in Hybrid has a bigger battery, which allows them store more energy in the braking.

If approximately a Total Hybrid Car consumes 30% less than an equivalent conventional internal combustion car, a Plug-in Hybrid consumes about 45% less than conventional combustion.