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Originally Posted by redpoint5
1. Add me to the list of hybrid owners that understand the principles of thermal dynamics.
2. Yes, hybrids really are more fuel efficient than their ICE-only counterparts.
The scientific explanation is that an electric motor can allow the gas engine to be sized smaller and tuned less powerfully while maintaining the consumers expectation for acceleration. Comparing hybrids with their non-hybrid counterparts bears this out.
Regen is a small part of the efficiency equation. A smaller, more efficient engine is a larger factor.
My Prius is the plug-in version, so most of the trips it makes consumes zero gasoline. Coming back down from the mountain today, I regained about 5 EV miles due to extensive regen. I can run the ICE when there is a high demand for power, which is the most efficient use of the ICE, and run the electric motor when the demand for power is low. I'm probably averaging 75 MPG compared to my TSX, which with great effort, achieves 30 MPG. The 2 cars are comparable in weight and size, with the Prius having more utility.
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This is a good summary of this thread so far. When you introduce a plug in hybrid, all bets are off, since you are introducing energy from an outside source. At this point you are gaining many of the advantages of an EV, and are no longer relying only on what you pump into the gas tank.
The smaller ICE that works as a system with an electric motor is a concept that is a bit of a breakthrough for my understanding of hybrids, but I still have questions about this. It still takes a certain amount of energy to drive a car of a certain weight and cd, and I don't fully understand how the Atkinson engine coupled to an electric motor benefits this. The concept of the system makes sense, but it also sounds like the battery pack will need quite a bit more than just waste braking energy. This means that the ICE will need to produce energy to store in the batteries. An ICE powering a generator that charges batteries that run a motor adds up to a loss of energy. What I am unclear on is how much of this loss is offset by the advantage of the Atkinson drive system and the harvested braking energy.