The topic of eco-cars was revealed in the West long ago, but in Ukraine they are not so often met on the roads as conventional diesel or gasoline cars. And maybe the problem is that the drivers are not aware enough about environmentally friendly counterparts of the vehicles.
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Norway has launched a bill that by 2025 all cab services must purchase electric cars, and passenger transportation will take place exclusively with them.
Such changes are taking place not only because electric cars reduce harmful emissions to the atmosphere to almost zero percent. One of the reasons is the low cost of "filling up" such a car.
If with an ordinary gasoline-powered car the driver spends more than 1000 hryvnias per month, the driver of an electric analog will spend 800 hryvnias less.
But before buying such a car you should decide which one will meet your needs the best.
Hybrid cars
This type of car is powered by two types of engines, the first is an internal combustion engine and the second is electric. The internal combustion engine can be either gasoline or diesel. The complexity lies in the principle of the hybrid circuit - it can be sequential, parallel or combined.
In the sequential scheme, the internal combustion engine plays the role of a large generator. It is mounted under the hood, but is not connected to the wheels. The key task of the engine is to produce current for the electric motor that turns the wheels.
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The most famous sequential hybrid is the BelAZ, a huge dump truck.
In passenger cars, the sequential scheme is rarely used because of the high waste of power. One successful example of this system can be found in the BMW i3, which is equipped with the REX (range enhancement) option, a small two-cylinder engine to produce current, which turns an electric car into a sequential REX hybrid.
Most modern hybrids have a parallel circuit. Here the internal combustion engine and electric motor are linked to the wheels and can work together or separately. Most often, electric kilowatts are added to the existing power and help save fuel.
The inline-parallel or combined scheme is often accompanied by a conventional gearbox, with the electric motor itself acting as an intermediary between the gearbox and the internal combustion engine.
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In the Toyota Prius, the gasoline engine: electric motor and wheels are linked one to the other behind a planetary mechanism without a gearbox or clutch, making the entire powertrain one piece, allowing the electronics to distribute power evenly. This is why such a system is very efficient.
Plug-in hybrids
It is clear from the name that this type of hybrid car can be recharged from the electric grid. The battery here is more powerful than in a conventional hybrid, so it is easier to save money with them as well. The owner of such a car can travel from 50 to 100 km, using only electricity, not including the internal combustion engine.
The fuel consumption of hybrids of this type confidently tends to zero, and the power is much higher, in contrast to the same combined hybrid.
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Hyundai Tucson Hybrid has a capacity of 35 horsepower more if compared to the usual hybrid. The total number of them is 265. It can drive 51 kilometers using only electricity, and it will take two hours to fully charge such a battery.
So, in a working day your car will be fully charged and you can get home without wasting money on gasoline.
In the next issue we will tell you about electric cars and hydrogen cars, stay tuned!
