How Hybrid Engines Work - With the soaring cost of fossil fuels, engines that combine more than one source of energy have been gaining popularity rapidly. A hybrid engine is any engine that runs on more than one source - whether it's a combination of diesel and electricity, gasoline and electricity, gasoline and solar power, or any other multi-source option. The benefit of combining multiple energy sources in a hybrid car is that heightened fuel economy is realized and thus the vehicle is able to run far more economically.
A hybrid car can combine multiple energy sources in two different ways. The first option, called a parallel hybrid, calls upon both the fuel tank that supplies the gasoline or diesel power as well as the battery cells that supply the electric power to work simultaneously in propelling the vehicle. By reducing the vehicles dependence on gasoline or diesel and utilizing batteries to supply a large percentage of power, huge cost savings in operating the car can be realized.
The second option is called a series hybrid. With this type of hybrid engine, the multiple fuel sources are called upon in series - in other words, separately - to provide propulsion power to the vehicle. It's not a simple matter of the various power sources taking turns, however. The gasoline or diesel engine is tapped to provide power to a generator within the vehicle. That generator then charges the battery cells or powers them directly, giving the car enough energy to drive. Because gasoline or diesel is only fueling the generator and not the car itself, a high level of fuel economy can be realized.
How Hybrid Engines Work
