Electric and Hybrid Cars - Essay Example

Electric and Hybrid Cars Analysis and comparison of the technology used in the product Where electrical cars get their electricity from? Electric cars get their electricity from rechargeable batteries installed in the cars. Electric cars have batteries that are used to store electric charge that is later used in the car as a source of electricity. The stored electric charges are converted back to electricity and mechanical energy used to run motors that drive the electric cars (CEF 1). Once the batteries are used up, they are recharged to their full potential which would be done during the night or the days when the car is not being used. This is because the batteries take a long time to recharge during which they may not have enough charge for driving to desired destinations. The batteries are recharged using various forms of energy available at homes or at public recharge stations. The batteries could be recharged using energy generated from fossil fuels just like other electric devices. In hybrid cars, the batteries could be recharged using fossil fuels through the power generated in the engines. The batteries are also recharged using alternative sources of energy. This could be electricity from solar, wind, hydro, and other sources which is available at homes or recharge stations. Some electric cars are also fixed with solar cells to harvest solar energy from the sun when the car is parked or moves in the sunshine. How does electricity make the wheels of a hybrid car spin? Electricity is the form of energy used to drives the electric cars by spinning the wheel so that the car moves forwards. However, this electricity has to be converted into a suitable form of energy capable of spinning the car wheels and just like in the case of gasoline cars where petroleum is converted to kinetic energy to drive the cars. In the hybrid cars, the batteries provide electric charges that are converted to direct current or alternating current using an electric controller (Cars Direct 1). The controller supplies the current to the electric motor of the car which in turn rotates the wheels through connectors to the wheels. The motor, thus produces the electrical energy to mechanical (kinetic) energy that makes the wheels to rotate and therefore move the car forward. In most hybrid cars, the motor is used to start the cars because it provides high energy at low speeds instantly which is not is not easily achieved from using the gasoline source. The type of controller as either direct or alternating current determines the electric pulse rate of current that reaches the motor which in turn rotates the wheels. However, the alternating current controller requires higher voltage than the direct current controller. Why are the batteries used in hybrid cars? Hybrid cars are designed to use more than one source of power to move the car. Hybrid cars use both petroleum power source as well as electricity. Batteries are highly useful in providing electric energy required in hybrid cars. There are varied designs of hybrid cars and therefore batteries play different purposes to give electric current for various driving instances. In parallel hybrid cars, power from petroleum as well as the electric power from the battery is used in moving the car simultaneously (Woodford 1). As such, the battery supplies electric power constantly as the car moves. In a series hybrid cars, the motor rotates the wheel while the engine recharges the battery. Therefore the battery is used to store the charges generated by the engine for the purposes of supplying the motor. The batteries in full hybrid cars provide electric energy for moving the cars independently without the use of petroleum source. Mild hybrids have batteries for supplying electric energy to assist engines. The batteries in ordinary hybrids store charges generated by the engines as well as recovering energy from regenerative brakes. There is also plugin hybrid cars that have batteries recharged using outside power sources rather than from the engine of a car. These batteries are much relatively bigger in size and store and provide enough electricity to drive the car alone. How and why electric cars are not considered as environmental pollutant? The electric cars are considered friendly to the environment and not as a pollutant as the conventional gasoline cars. This is because the electricity used is considered a clean source of power compared to the petroleum products. Full hybrid cars do not use petroleum to spin the wheels of the cars and therefore do not emit carbon dioxide or other gases to the atmosphere (CEF 1). As such, the cars are considered as friendly to the environment since help reduce the negative impacts posed by petroleum driven cars. In addition, the batteries used in the electric cars could be recharged using renewable sources such as solar and other green energies available. This reduces the general use of petroleum source of energy in cars and entire transport industry hence reducing pollution. Moreover, the electric cars would require the reduced use of petroleum power in recharging purposes. The electric cars could also be recharged using electricity generated through the use of petroleum or coal. However, this would require the reduced use of petroleum oils and therefore leading to reduced pollution. The electric cars are also considered as non-pollutants to the environment since they do not emit any dirt that pollutes the air especially in towns where there is huge traffic. The electric cars are not fixed with tailpipes since the electricity used does not emit any gas to the environment. Therefore, use of electric cars, thus guarantees of clean air in the towns and this is considered desirable for the environment. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this type of energy source? Use of electricity as a source of power for cars has several advantages including reduced emissions as the cars are considered green and fit for the environment. The cars have zero emissions of carbon dioxide that could otherwise pollute the environment. The electricity source enables t attainment of high efficiency since the motors use less little voltage to give high energy and minimizes energy wastage as observed in petroleum source (Woodford 1). The electricity source is also associated with low maintenance costs than cars powered with petroleum oil. However, the source faces some disadvantages. For instance, the electric cars cannot carry huge energies for longer distances or move at high speeds as compared to petroleum source. In addition, the batteries take a long time to recharge than petroleum driven cars that require a few minutes to refuel. The batteries also last for a few years and have to be replaced. There are also few recharging stations for electric cars which lead to inconveniences to recharge them. What factors might prevent car makers from making cars with higher fuel efficiency and/or cars that use alternative energy sources? Car manufactures may be limited from making highly efficient fuel driven or alternative energy driven cars since each source faces concerns. Fuel driven cars will always face challenges of carbon emission no matter the level of technology used. As such, there are increasing concerns to integrate petroleum and electric sources. In addition, highly efficient petroleum cars would require high technology which is expensive for people to afford (Ehsani et al 1). Thus, the manufacturers would experience law demands that lead to reduced profits. Development of cars exclusively using alternative energy sources has concerns over convenience in recharging as well as need to replace the batteries after a few years. Cars driven using alternative power would bring inconveniences after the batteries are used up. Development of cars that use alternative energy would require huge batteries and motors that are heavy for the cars. They may also not give high energy to move bulky and heavy commodities. Discuss what events could cause car manufacturers to change the energy sources of their cars Car manufacturers could be compelled to change sources of energies for the cars due to events that could take place. For instance, there could be more legislation on the use of petroleum sources, especially in the developed countries that are taking strong efforts towards use of green energies. The governments could enact laws limiting level of petroleum products, whereas formulating favourable laws for cars driven by alternative energy (CEF 1). The depletion of fossil fuels may cause manufacturers to find a more reliable source of energy. The petroleum source is non-renewable and oil reserves are being depleted, leading to high costs of production and possible shortage in future production levels. As such, the manufacturers may need to find alternative sources that would support mass production of cars and reduced costs for the users. For the non-renewable sources, the manufacturers would be forced to develop new sources to support the huge demands of energy for the cars. Provide and explain your opinion regarding future product development. In the future, there would be increased environmental concerns over the production of cars powered through petroleum source and environmentalists as well as governments would recommend for cars using alternative sources. It would thus be expected that there will increased use of electric and hybrid cars to reduce pollution (Ehsani et al 123). However, there would be the development of highly efficient and durable electric cars to overcome difficulties in electric power storage. In addition, more sources, alternative energy sources would be used in the development of cars. There would also be increased technologies for developing more efficient petroleum driven cars to overcome challenges to the environment. The increased discoveries of oil reserves would also maintain high levels of oil supply and hence petroleum sources would still be used in the manufacture of cars. There would also be increased adoption of hybrid cars to overcome challenges posed by either the petroleum or alternative energy sources. Therefore, the present sources of energy would be still applied in the future. Works cited Cars Direct. How an Electric Car Motor Works. 2012. Web. http://www.carsdirect.com/green-cars/how-an-electric-car-motor-works CEF. What are Electric Cars? Conserve Energy Future. 2015. Web. http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/HowElectricCarsWork.php Ehsani, Mehrdad, Yimin Gao & Ali Emadi. Modern Electric, Hybrid Electric, and Fuel Cell Vehicles: Fundamentals, Theory, and Design, Second Edition. NW: CRC Press. 2009 Woodford, Chris. Electric cars. 5 May 2015. Web. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/electriccars.html Read More