While fully electric vehicles are all set to take over the automotive market space in the next few years, there is still scope for improvement in this area. The concept is yet to gain widespread popularity and enough infrastructure is yet to be created in the form of charging points and service support that substantiates the demand. Many of the new car buyers visiting Hyundai dealer serving Orlando are looking more at hybrid vehicles for the moment during this transition phase as they get the best of both worlds though at a slightly higher cost. This has encouraged automakers to focus more on improving their existing automobiles through better technology and innovation to be able to adhere to possible stricter emission norms in the near future and also face the onslaught of competition from all-electric vehicles to protect their investments, market positions and stay relevant. Mild-Hybrid technology is one such advancement which aims to address fuel economy and lower emission requirements in fuel powered vehicles and is the new way to go green.
What is Mild-Hybrid Technology?
Hybrid engines in general consist of a conventional internal combustion engine that uses gasoline or diesel which simultaneously powers an electric motor so that the vehicle can operate on either gas or electricity or if required both. The result is better fuel efficiency, less emissions improved mileage and performance. An offshoot of this technology is the mild-hybrid technology in which an electrical motor is placed in the conventional engine but is used not to move the car but provide power specific to certain components of the vehicle. If you look at current day vehicles you will find more and more features that are powered using electricity, through batteries. This necessitates power distribution from the vehicles motors to propel the vehicle and simultaneously provide power to the battery to keep it charged so it can power the onboard devices. The cleaver innovation here is to separate the motors that power the vehicle and charge the batteries. Mild-Hybrids address exactly this requirement.
What Mild-Hybrid Technology Does
One of the most common uses of this technology can be seen in vehicles that come with Auto Start-Stop feature. In such vehicles, the engine is temporarily shut down when idling. When the brakes are released, the engine is powered up again. This directly helps save fuel by preventing wastage and helps reduce emissions. This apart the technology helps in engine startup, braking regeneration, turning off engines to save power when cruising and automatically restarting them, powering onboard devices such as the climate control, entertainment system and others. In some cases, mild-hybrids are used to boost the torque performance briefly when the need arises as in towing where extra power is required. If not for this, more fuel would be required for that extra power.
Who uses Mild-Hybrids in their vehicles?
Most leading car makers and premium vehicle manufactures are offering vehicles with mild-hybrid technology. Hyundai dealer Orlando informed us about the upcoming Hyundai Tucson which features a 48V mild-hybrid powertrain with its 2.0-Liter diesel engine. The apparatus consists of a Lithium-ion battery pack, a starter generator, low-voltage AC/DC converter and inverter. This would give buyers that cost advantage without compromising on fuel-economy, performance and efficiency.
