Electric Cars vs Hybrid Cars - Assignment Example

Comparing electric cars to hybrid cars Hybrid vehicles are designed with the intention of small fuel emission and fuel efficiency. Most of such cars tent to utilize more than one power source to move. The vehicle can be efficient in places with no electricity from the other source of power such as gasoline combustion can be utilized. Unlike hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles make use of electric motors to move. The car can go by using the stored electrical energy on either batteries or other devices that store the energy (Brand, 120). Electric cars, unlike hybrid vehicles, have been popular in the in the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. Hybrid vehicle was developed to replace the use of electric vehicles. More electric vehicles are being developed as a result of power and battery management. The concerns about reduction of greenhouse emission of gasses and increasing prices of oil has led to the creation of more and more models of electric cars such as Tesla, Frisker, Karma and Toyota RAV4. Electric and hybrid cars may attract the same kind of customers even though they differ in a number of ways. Studies have shown that wealthier and younger people purchase electric vehicles compared to those who buy hybrid cars. Electric cars are considered more expensive than hybrid vehicles because of the expensive technology employed in the designing the cars. Hybrid vehicles such as Prius have existed for a long time on our roads unlike the electric model that is still new to the market, luxurious and attractive to the people. Hybrid cars utilize more than one sources of power in locomotion. The vehicle combines electric motors and internal fuel combustion energy (Antony, 50). An example of a hybrid vehicle is Toyota Prius. Electric cars, on the other hand, utilize electrical energy as the only energy source. Electric vehicles use electricity that is considered cheaper while hybrid vehicles utilize both gasoline and electric energy. Gas is expensive as a result of the rising cost of fuel in the world. With proper power management system in cars such as Karma and Toyota RAV4 which utilize electricity as an energy source, it will cost less to drive in such cars than using a hybrid car (Voelcker, 69). Hybrid cars, on the other hand, use gasoline that is considered environmentally unfriendly. Due to the current global warming as a result of carbon emission, pressure is for companies and countries to put up measure that will prevent greenhouse gasses from being emitted into the atmosphere. Electric cars are, therefore, one of the options in a friendly and clean environment. Most households can access electrical energy, unlike gasoline hence making electric vehicles the better option for them than the hybrid ones. Electric car market, unlike hybrid car markets, is steadily increasing. Evolution of solar and wind-powered charging station has ensured continuous and available electrical sources of fuel. The electric vehicles may thereby become the best option vehicles basing on the current pressure in the world to control environmental pollution that is caused by hybrid vehicles and other sources of carbon emission. One of the current debates targeting the future of automobiles is based on utilizing electricity as a source of fuel. The design of electric cars presents an architectural simplicity. An electric car has a minimum number of moving parts. The energy storage devices utilized can be baked in the car’s floor pan (Voelcker, 69). The remaining space can be used for luggage, people, safety, and handling. Hybrid car, on the other hand, have more moving parts, and a fuel or gas combustion compartment hence make it difficult to optimize space for luggage and people. Due to ample space created in an electric car, the car can be designed to more attractive and comfortable to the users unlike the hybrid one. The absence of a combustion engine in an electric vehicle gives space for developing the fastest possible car. The designs can optimize on the small gravity center and maximum acceleration (Kim et al,120). These are the reason electric cars such as Tesla is more efficient and faster than Prius that is a hybrid. Though the prices of electric vehicles are considered higher, the battery can be recharged at a less amount of money. Hybrid cars are however cheaper but expensive to maintain since a lot of money are required to purchase fuel. The interest of people towards full electric car has increased an in the recent past due to rising in the price of gasoline. Hybrid vehicles initially were the most utilized vehicles. Maintaining an electric car is considered cheaper compared to hybrid. The fact is due to the prices of fuel remaining stubbornly high. Electricity cost is more stable, unlike fuel. Power comes from a number of sources (Kim et al,120). The sources of power are more environmentally friendly than gasoline that emits carbon dioxide greenhouse gas after combustion. Carbon dioxide is one of the gasses that cause air pollution and the process cause greenhouse effect due to depletion of the ozone layer. A hybrid vehicle despite using an electric motor has a gasoline combustion chamber and keeps alternating the sources of energy yet electric car uses electricity alone. Prius one of the hybrid vehicles utilizes an electric motor to either provide full drive or partial power. A basic architecture is used to build a hybrid vehicle. A hybrid car that is considered parallel has both an electric motor and gasoline engine (Voelcker, 69). Both or either can be utilized to provide the energy required to propel the wheels. The wheels of a series hybrid car depend on an electric motor for energy, the electric motor gets power from the battery that is recharged by a gasoline engine. Tesla’s model S is one of the cars that operate wholly on electric power. The car has been designed to be more spacious comfortable and environmentally friendly. Electric vehicles, unlike hybrid vehicles, have an incredible torque and acceleration. Their engine is designed in such a way that it allows enough space. The more room created enough the center of gravity is level and thereby easier to increase the speed and acceleration of the car (Delang, 100). Unlike hybrid cars that emit a lot of gasses into the atmosphere, electric vehicles utilize electricity as the only source of power and hence they are environmentally friendly. They, however take a lot of to charge compared to hybrid. Most countries have not installed enough charging stations to help in charging electric cars. The issue is however being solved with more electric charging stations being brought up. With hybrid vehicles, the number of gas stations is increasingly high and thereby it is not always affected by the problem. Hybrid cars are flexible since the design allows one power source to be switched to another source. The design also makes such cars adaptable to areas that are less developed with less electric charging systems (Delang, 100). The use of electric source alone makes it a challenge for the cars, since they can only be sold in countries that are developed. The vehicle types can function in areas with less electric supply, and minimal or less electric charging station makes it as a challenge. Lithium-ion batteries utilized in the electric cars is usually expensive to purchase. The battery is also heavy for the car. The companies are however in the process of innovating cheaper batteries that will be more efficient and thereby making electric vehicles a better option than the hybrid ones. Hybrid car posses a fuel tank and a battery for electrical energy supply. The tank is intended to supply the engine with gasoline (Delang, 100). Gas is burned in the combustion chamber to provide power that, as a result, can turn the wheels. An electric car has electric power storage device. The method contains the motors with electrical energy. The energy produced is essential in powering the wheel. Hybrid vehicle has been designed with the intention of increasing the mileage while at the same time decline the amount of gasses emitted into the environment. The technology, on the other hand, is aimed at maximizing on the shortcomings of an electrically propelled car. A hybrid car is flexible due to the alternate energy sources. The slowness in charging affects decreases its mileage coverage. Unlike hybrid car that covers almost four hundred and eighty-two kilometers before being refueled, an electric car only covers fifty to a hundred miles before the battery is recharged. Such issues are the shortcomings presented by the electric powered vehicles. A hybrid car has several parts. The parts include the gasoline engine, the fuel tank which is an energy storage compartment. It also contains a generator. A generator is mostly found in series hybrid vehicles (Dettmer, 30). A generator is utilized in the production of electric power. The battery in a hybrid car is used as an energy storage device for the electric motor contained in the vehicle. The electric motor present in the hybrid car can draw energy and out energy into the batteries. The transmission part of a hybrid car works the same as the one in the conventional vehicles. An electric car contains a battery and motor which collaborate to provide the necessary energy required to propel the wheels. Electric cars are entirely powered by the electric motors. Such vehicles usually keep their power in a number of batteries. Different cells are utilized depending on their limitations and advantages. Such cars get their fuel by plugging at designated charging stations. Unlike hybrid cars that are refueled at the gas stations, electric cars can be recharged either at the gas stations or business premises. Some of such vehicles can be recharged at the charging stations. Loading the car on a high voltage power line may fasten the rate even though the least amount of time taken to restore the automobile is around eight hours. The regenerative braking system in the car can be used to charge the batteries for a number of occasions (Graham-Rowe et al, 46). Electric cars are considered modern and the best in the current world due to lack of gaseous emission into the atmosphere. Global warming is one of the resultant effects of continuous air pollution. Global warming occurs due to depletion of the ozone layer in the atmosphere resulting to harmful rays from the sun reaching the atmosphere. One of the causes of air pollution is carbon dioxide that is emitted by the combustion of gasoline in the combustion tank of a hybrid car. Decreasing the use of hybrid vehicles and continued use of electric powered vehicles as a mean of transport is seen as a solution to air pollution. Maintaining an electric car is easier than maintaining a hybrid car. The fact that electric vehicles are simple in construction makes it easier to keep. The cars have fewer moving parts compared to hybrid cars. Few moving parts mean less maintenance. The only maintenance associated with an electric car involves changing the battery (Hoyer, 40). The battery may reduce in ability to keep the charge of every cycle. Changing a battery of such a car is quite expensive. However, the battery can only be replaced after seven years of use. Maintaining a hybrid vehicle is quite costly and demanding. Maintenance targets both the battery and the gas tank. Replacement of both the gasoline tank and the battery has to be done. Such process is usually expensive since it requires a lot of capital. The complexities presented by the number of systems results in an expensive maintenance system. Putting electric cars versus hybrid cars at the current time may not be the best idea due to lack of efficient infrastructure associated with electric vehicles such as the charging system. Driving a hybrid car is similar to other diesel or petrol powered engines since, fueling at the gas station is done (Kim et al, 120). Several factors however have to be considered when buying an electrically propelled car. Such factors include; speed limits, limited range, price, and charging. With a small number of electric charging stations, electric cars can only move for a short distance. Works Cited Antony, Jackson. 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