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As rising fuel costs and a greater concern for environmental impact have become an everyday problem, more and more people are deciding to eschew their combustion engine cars and opt for hybrid vehicles that use alternative fuel technologies. The majority of these vehicles are a combination of a combustion engine and electrical power and are given the label of hybrid electric vehicles, or HEVs. Other alternative power sources for a hybrid vehicle could include compressed air, coal, hydrogen, solar power, electromagnetic fields, or wind power. While many of these technologies have not turned into products that have been purchased, the hybrid electric vehicles have proven to be a major success.

Despite the commonly held misconception, hybrid electric cars have actually been in existence for over a century now. The first model was made by Ferdinand Porsche in the year 1900 and set the records for speed for vehicles of the era. However, electricity was not readily available at this time and the popularity of the new technology was never embraced by the public. In today’s times, much has changed and the price of electricity is substantially cheaper than the price of gas. For this reason, the plug-in hybrid vehicles, or PHEVs, are now taking center stage. Using a parallel or serial layout, these types of cars are able to store the energy from electricity in battery cells while plugged in to a standard household outlet. This energy can then be used to power the car over an impressive range of miles. When the electricity runs out, the car automatically switches back to a standard combustion engine.

In addition to reducing the reliance on gas and the high prices that need to be paid with every filling of the tank, there are other reasons why a person might wish to consider a hybrid electric vehicle as their next car. In environmental terms, the cars are much better than the ones that exclusively burn petroleum fuels. The emissions that are released by the hybrid cars are much better, with most falling under 5.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide. However, there are some environmental concerns that are present with these types of cars. The type of battery that is used can be very important, with the nickel cadmium and lead acid varieties adding to the pollution problem. In response to this problem, most hybrid manufacturers have limited their cars to only use nickel metal hydride batteries, which have a far lower environmental impact.

While the popularity of hybrid electric cars is soaring to new highs, it may not stay that way for long. Because the construction of these cars require a different set of materials, the cost can rise due to the scarcity of these materials, creating a bigger price tag for the end consumer and threatening the growth rate of hybrid cars.

 

Read Hybrid Vehicles: Training Programs and Educational Resources 
by Liz Lipton		 Read State Farm Web Cast on Hybrid Vehicles for Emergency Responders
by Liz Lipton