Former CIA Director James Woolsey says it so well and so succinctly, I doubt much more needs to be added: “A plug-in hybrid is an electric car with an insurance policy – a gas engine.” Relying primarily on electrical power, a hybrid has a gas engine back-up. That back-up is activated when the car’s solar battery is depleted, or under certain other pre-specified conditions.
You’ll primarily find two different types of hybrid cars on the market today. One is a plug-in hybrid, or PHEV, and the other is simply a hybrid. The only difference between the two is the battery that’s used. The battery capacity of the PHEV, which is recharged by plugging into an electrical outlet, is about 10 times that of the battery used in the standard hybrid. The standard hybrid vehicle battery is smaller and recharges in runs in conjunction with an electrical motor and operation of the gas engine in the vehicle. The PHEV or plug-in hybrid can be charged by a connection to any electrical outlet…solar-powered or connected to a standard grid.
There are an increasing number of advances in batteries that are making full solar powered cars with zero emissions, more and more viable for individual, family and commercial endeavors. People with solar vehicles are increasingly seeing the value of adding solar panels to their roofs to provide the power to charge their cars…and then adding more panels to power their homes. Hybrids, however, with a combination electric and gas engine, are currently the best answer for vehicles that will need to go for long distances without recharging.
When we think about how much it actually costs us to drive our vehicles every day, what we don’t take into account, or add to the tally, is the cost of the environmental damage done by fossil fuels. If we had a component that we had to add into our calculation that factored in that expense, the only thing you’d see any of us driving would be solar powered vehicles or solar powered hybrids.
Absent entrenched economic interests and politics, solar power would be in a far different place today than it is.
The electric hybrid, or a solar powered hybrid car is, for the moment, the best option available for driving longer distances — an electric car that runs clean and efficiently with less pollution, with a back-up system to ensure operation at all times.
The Kelley Book, a widely used reference for establishing vehicle value lists the following hybrid models as available in the United States for 2010 and 2011:
- Toyota Prius
- Honda Insight
- Toyota Camry
- Ford Fusion
- Honda Civic
- Toyota Highlander
- Ford Escape
- Lexus, various hybrid models: RX & GS 450h, HS 250h, LS 600h
- Nissan Altima
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class & ML-Class
- Cadillac Escalade
- Chevrolet Tahoe
- Mercury Mariner & Milan
- BMW X6
- Chevrolet Malibu
- GMC Yukon
- Saturn VUE and Aura
- Chevrolet Silverado (pick-up) 1500
- GMC Sierra (pick-up) 1500 Crew Cab
Here are the Kelley Book “top green cars for 2010″, in reverse order:
* 2010 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
* 2010 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
* 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid
* 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
* 2010 Honda Insight (hybrid)
* 2010 Toyota Prius (hybrid)
It’s hard to change…for nearly all of us. If we want to truly embrace solar energy, particularly for our vehicles however, we need to stop the political pressure industry lobbyists are placing on our congressional representatives. So…how do we do that? We apply more pressure by directly contacting our representatives and insisting they support the right kinds of incentives to bring solar energy to parity…the kinds of incentives that will eclipse and collapse our dependence on fossil fuels.
Purchasing a hybrid or solar powered vehicle can be a big and important step in reducing our carbon footprint. With the dual option of an on-the-grid plug in (electricity from your utility company), or an off-the-grid plug in (electricity from your own solar panels), you can make a highly responsible, cost-effective choice.
Learn more about solar power cars. Stop by Timothy Peters’s site where you can find out all about home solar power and what it can do for you.
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.