In a typical hybrid car (that’s not a plug-in hybrid), the batteries get charged from the engine running and from regenerative braking. They then power an electric motor to assist with locomotion. You might park your car in the garage with the batteries at 90% capacity, or 70%, or 50%, or whatever.
When you pull back out, the batteries are then still at that “whatever” level. Doesn’t really matter. So how does the car’s battery bank know or care whether it was topped off via shore power while parked in the garage? Why is having an onboard charger for shore power (or a plug for a wall charger) such a difficult engineering feat? Seems like it would just require the addition of a part that costs a few hundred bucks.
RVs and boats have a “house” battery bank that generally functions this way. Maybe it’s getting charged by the alternator, maybe by solar panels, maybe by shore power. But hybrid cars having a shore power option (i.e. PHEV) seems like a real premium option that is not easily built.
What am I missing? Why does the battery bank care where it got its charge from?
In: Technology
Something that the other comments have missed: PHEVs (usually) have a “battery only” mode.
A standard hybrid will use battery power to *assist* the engine to get up to speed, but is almost entirely moved by the engine. It can’t move the car on it’s own, at least not very fast and definitely not for very long. You’d have to recharge the battery every 2-5 miles, and you’d only be going 10-20 MPH. If you’re only using the battery to give the car a quick push, you don’t need a big battery or motor.
A plug in hybrid will have both a bigger battery and a bigger electric motor. Most work like an electric car, using only the electric motor to move and using the engine to recharge the battery. You could drive highway speeds without using gas, and some can drive as far as 50-70 miles using the battery only.
By having a larger battery, larger electric motor, and the additional hardware to plug into a wall, PHEVs are more expensive and heavier than standard hybrids. Both hybrid types typically get about the same gas mileage if you are running them in hybrid mode, but the battery only option is why many people chose a PHEV.
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