Are Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEV) and Electrical Vehicle (EV) the same?

Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) or Electric Vehicle (EV)

To answer the most repeated questions related to the electric car about which is better the hybrid electrical car (HEV) or the normal electrical car (EV) and whether are they the same or not, we should first learn more about what they are and how do they work in detail and then answer the question.

Electrical vehicles (EVs) come out to the site as a promising alternative solution that replaces the traditional vehicle that works with gasoline where it uses electrical system components like motors and batteries as energy storing systems instead of using gasoline engines and gasoline tanks only to drive and control the electrical vehicle.

Google Electrical Vehicle (EV)

In this article, we will understand the electrical vehicles and discuss their components, advantages, and how does it work. Also, we will explain hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs), what they are, how they work, and their advantages.

What is an electrical vehicle (EV)?

Electric vehicles (EVs) are autos that are driven by electric motors that replace the known engines that use the combustion process to burn fossil fuels like natural gas and gasoline to supply the moving energy to the vehicle parts. The power source of that electric motor comes from the electrical energy stored in special batteries that have a high-capacity design.

This energy is eco-friendly and should be sufficient for the vehicles’ operation. We can find electric vehicles in two main forms. The first one is the hybrid electric vehicles that use both traditional fuel engines side by side with electric motors. The second is the electric vehicle which is fully dependent on electrical motors. In this article, we will explain the electrical vehicle which is fully operated with batteries. Hybrid electrical vehicles will be discussed later in a separate article.

What are the components of electrical vehicles?

The components of the electric vehicles (EVs) are:

Batteries as an electrical power source: Batteries are the most important component of the EV. It is considered the heart of the EV. Without batteries, there is no EV. Batteries supply the EV with the needed power to drive the EV’s electrical motor.

This battery is normally a lithium-ion battery because of its advantages over other types of batteries like high-energy density, fast charging time, ability to supply high power, long lifetime, and safety

Electrical motor as the drive unit: the electrical motor is the equipment that supplies the EV with its rotation power where the electrical energy that comes from the batteries is converted to mechanical energy. the electrical motor advantages compared to normal vehicles are that the electrical motor acceleration is very smooth and supplies an instant torque.

EV charge equipment is responsible for monitoring and controlling the batteries’ charging process when plugged into an electricity station at home or in public areas to allow EVs to drive electric energy for long distances and with a smooth charging process.

Regenerative technology equipment converts the kinetic energy from the EVs during braking or deceleration into reversed electrical energy that is delivered back to the batteries to be used in battery recharging.

How do Electric Vehicles (EVs) Work?

Before starting the EV, the batteries should be fully charged or with enough power to reach their destination or the next charging station. If not, the EV should be plugged into the electricity source to get charged. Batteries store this electrical energy internally in the form of chemical energy and supply it again to the EV motor as electrical energy.
When the EV starts and the driver pushes the pedal to move the EV, the batteries start to deliver their stored chemical energy to the electrical motor in the form of electrical energy. batteries supply a DC current and the motor is an AC variable speed. The change from DC to AC is done through the power electronics component made of semiconductor materials (thyristors).
The electrical motor converts the electrical power supplied by batteries to a torque that is transferred to the moving parts of the EV (wheels). The torque generated by the electrical motor enables the EV to move smoothly and efficiently.
When the EV is braked, the electrical motor is changed to a generator called a regenerative braking system that converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy and supplies it again to the battery to support battery charging.

What are the hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs)?

Hybrid electrical vehicles (HEVs) are vehicles that combine two or more sources of energy. they may include an electrical motor working with batteries and an internal combustion engine (ICE) working as a second source. some promising approaches are developed to use renewable energy sources in the HEVs

The HEVs could also have a fuel cell with hydrogen tank storage as a second source besides the battery and electrical motor. The (HEVs) utilize the operation of electrical motors during the start/stop and low speed to reduce fuel consumption and emission while using fossil fuel at high speed.

how do hybrid electrical vehicles work (HEVs)?

The synchronization between the (ICE) and batteries is monitored and controlled through a special control system designed for this type of process to improve the performance, maximize the fuel’s efficiency, and minimize the emission that comes out from the vehicle. The (HEVs) are working as follows:

During the vehicle’s movement, the ICE converts the energy generated from fuel burning to mechanical power same as the normal vehicles. The vehicle transmission system transfers this mechanical power and the torque to the vehicle’s moving parts.
The electric motor can support the (ICE) with additional power and torque. It has the option of working independently based on the designed program which enables the vehicle to run only with the electric power.
The HEVs have the regenerative braking feature which is discussed in the EVs. Where the electrical motor is converted to a generator suppling the batteries again with the electrical energy resulting from the braking process to be stored and used later.
A very special control system is used in the HEVs to monitor and manage the flow of power and synchronization between the HEVs’ components. This modern control system with a group of sensors could handle the vehicle's speed control, battery charging, and the operation of the ICE and electrical motor to achieve maximum vehicle performance.

Hybrid Electrical Vehicle (HEV)

What are the advantages of the hybrid electrical vehicle (HEV)?

As the HEV combines two different energy sources, electrical and power from the traditional fuel sources, it enables the EV to work on the traditional fuel when the battery is out of charge. that leads to long operation times without stopping for recharging.

Including the internal combustion engine enables the fast process of vehicle refilled by fuels. The refueling of the (HEVS) is faster compared to charging the batteries of the (EVs) when used as a stand-alone source where the refueling process takes about minutes and the battery charging needs hours to reach the full charge. that case is very important for long-distance traveling.

Decreasing the number of charging and recharging cycles of the batteries when used in (HEVs) causes an increase in the batteries' lifetime and increases the operation hours of the batteries by mixing the operation of the vehicle between the two sources of power.

Sharing the EVs’ load between batteries and ICE decreases the initial cost coming from the fast depletion of the batteries because of the several charging and discharging cycles of the batteries when it is used in EVs without any supportive sources. Also decreasing the charging/discharging cycles allows cost savings for the bill of electricity used in the charging process.