Comments on: Power Electronics could make Hybrid Cars Cheaper

By: Sameera

Sameera — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:46:34 +0000

I wish I could join Ms. Plesko in her research. Anyways I wish her all the very best.

By: Jos Conil

Jos Conil — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:22:40 +0000

A small step towards a great future for eco friendly cars. Hats off to madam Hanna Plesko!

By: joann jenkins

joann jenkins — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:58:51 +0000

Thank you for the interesting articles and challenging topics you provide. As a school teacher who requires her students to do in-depth research projects, your site has made it possible for us to pursue something contemporary as well as fascinating to do! Thanks again.

ms. jenkins

By: Soesilo Pn

Soesilo Pn — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:26:17 +0000

Therefore we can easily conclude that converters are significant power electronic mechanisms in hybrid or electric vehicles. These days converters are situated outside the electric motors… I think it’s a good solution.

By: David Eldon

David Eldon — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:25:51 +0000

@Amy

Putting a turbine on a car with the hopes of recovering energy from wind is ultimately going to cost more energy because of added drag. The source of the wind is the car’s engine, so harnessing it will be working against the engine.

By: Joseph Moniz

Joseph Moniz — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:25:28 +0000

The Prius with 1 person on board isn’t as efficient as the 6 seat SUV with all seats filled. It’d be hard to beat a Prius or Insight with all 5 seats filled.

Unfortunately most of the cars in LA have only a driver in them, including the cars in the carpool lanes ( which tend to be mostly hybrids, CNG, and flex-fuel vehicles.)

Again, a variation on the theme of if you’re using the vehicle wrong isn’t not as green as it could be.

By: Amy Wagner

Amy Wagner — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:25:08 +0000

How about attaching a wind turbine to a vehicle somehow and using the power generated as the car moves to charge a battery? Probably crazy, but crazy can be the mother of invention!

By: Marcelina Sosa-Mcgirr

Marcelina Sosa-Mcgirr — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:24:42 +0000

I don’t own a Prius, but if people don’t get the high mileage out of it is b/c of the way they drive… speed etc…

By: John Boston

John Boston — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:24:05 +0000

Paul, You’re the first person I’ve heard of who knows of a Prius actually getting that kind of mileage. The Prius owners I know say they rarely top 40 mpg. The turbo diesel VW Jetta consistently beats the Prius in mpg, and blows it away in performance.

As for not plugging the Prius in, modifying it to allow charging it from a power outlet, thus making it a “Plug-In Hybrid” is the single most popular modification to the Prius, as well as other hybrid cars. It’s so popular, in fact, that Toyota is going to start selling them as plug in hybrids from the factory:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/07/plug-in-prius-2/

By: Paul Mendes

Paul Mendes — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:23:37 +0000

Wow, some people who have commented above have no idea what they are talking about. Hybrid cars do not need to be “charged” or “plugged in”. My parents own a prius and it gets a regular fill up of gasoline just like any other car. It does not need to be plugged in ever. while you drive it the car uses various energy recovery methods to charge the electric batteries and it runs on electric power whenever possible. This enables the car to get about 60 miles to the gallon, which is better gas mileage than my scooter had. It’s not perfect but it’s substantially better than any other car on the market.

Also, FYI during the summer I commute on a 125cc Honda CBR125R motorcycle. It is fuel injected which means it is remarkably efficient in it’s gasoline use, and uses a catalytic converter to reduce emissions (rare for a motorcycle of that small size). This bike gets up to 100mpg depending on how I ride it. It is probably the most fuel efficient means of highway capable transportation available in canada and it will carry a passenger as well. Once again, not perfect as it uses fossil fuels but still much better than a full sized car.

By: Anand Perala

Anand Perala — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:22:18 +0000

Overall reduction in fuel consumption is more important. Most people, especially younger people, don’t need 4-5 passenger vehicles to get around. But go to a college campus parking lot and that is all you will see. Stick around and you will see that almost no one carpools.

By: Christine Sharkey

Christine Sharkey — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:22:02 +0000

So stick some solar panels on your roof and power both your home and your hybrid car with sun power instead of coal power. There are also home sized wind turbines that are quiet and effective. You could combine both solar panels and a wind turbine and have the electric company pay YOU each month. Yes, they are expensive to install, but they’ll power the home for your grandkids, too.

By: Maria Evangelineli

Maria Evangelineli — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:21:47 +0000

Apart from that, car-indusrties don’t allow such technologies to be widely-used, for example somewhere in USA where people used such cars (electrically powered) with a hiring contract, they had to return them to the company, and so the people could not keep them not even if they paid the extra money needed. The company then destroyed the cars…

By: Katarina Kostovic Gasperov

Katarina Kostovic Gasperov — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:21:16 +0000

I strongly support new technology helping cars shift to Green.

By: Jen Peña Smith

Jen Peña Smith — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:21:00 +0000

Hybrid cars are superior ONLY if the people who drive them charge them with some alternative means. If you charge them at home, you’ve gone from a gas powered car to coal-fired one.