Hybrid cars all have small, efficient engines. When a car is cruising, which it is most of the time that it is operating, it really only needs a small amount of power. It is only in accelerating and getting up hills when the extra power is needed. So most cars are built for this peak power requirement, and have engines that are much bigger than is needed 99% of the time. Hybrid cars are able to have a very small engine, and when the extra power is needed, the electric motor and battery kick in to give it a boost. This is one of the most important features of a hybrid car. Another feature of hybrids is that they recover the energy that is normally lost in braking. A cruising car has a lot of kinetic energy in it. When the brakes are applied, much of this energy is converted to heat. The hybrid car uses the electric motor to help do the braking. This generates power and charges the batteries at the same time. This is called regenerative braking.
Regenerative Braking
Explain how regenerative braking works.
Regenerative braking is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a car down by converting kinetic energy into electricity which can be stored in a battery until needed.
