Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
In situations where you can keep a constant load by varying the speed, like when negotiating a small hill on the highway, that is preferrable to drawing from the battery on the ascent and filling it back up descending, as the losses in the movement->electricity->battery->electricity->movement conversion are substantial.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
It is great to have the hybrid system when you can put it to good use, but it is even better to avoid using it if that is possible too.
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Inaccurately over simplified for my tastes ... but that might just be me , and my personal preferences.
It depends on context ... it is not always a + to avoid using it ... just like it is not always a - to avoid using it ... it's not that simple.
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Just by fluctuating your speed any amount at all ... you ALWAYS increase the total joules of energy needed for wind resistance , compared to maintaining the same average speed as a steady speed ... that is just the reality of wind resistance.
Fluctuating vehicle speed is only a net + ... for the same average speed ... when the average ICE efficiency goes up by more than the increase in joules needed to fight wind resistance.
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All those conversion have losses yes ... but those losses are not always more than other losses ... sometimes for some conditions the round trip would be more losses ... and for other conditions the round trip is less losses.
There can be just as substantial and even more substantial losses from ICE efficiency fluctuations ... or from travel joules fluctuations ... etc.
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And once it goes into the PHEV category of HEVs the effect of round trip losses are drastically reduced ... if not removed.
And for many people ... every 1 kwh of mechanical energy it costs in $ more than 3x as much to buy it from gasoline as it does from grid electricity, which pays for a lot of other losses.