On the "Hybrid Vehicles" page I opine that it would be better if the current crop used the "serial hybrid" design. The point I tried to make is
It's not electric unless you can plug it in.
I am a purist about electric vehicles, so that's where I'm coming from. And, with reason, because the current hybrid vehicle designs all continue requiring that you burn gasoline. That the vehicles are still burning gasoline means that the overall dependancy on oil continues. There are many reasons to end the dependency on oil, and that's why I am a purist about electric vehicles.
It turns out that the Prius has an "electric-only" mode which is enabled in Europe and Asia, but not the U.S.A. Hmmm, one wonders why. This is a different sort of hybrid vehicle, namely:Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) Web site: http://priusplus.org/
How the '04 Prius Can Become a PRIUS+ Plug-In Hybrid
We can take this well-designed, highly popular advanced vehicle and soup it up -- or more accurately, "green-tune" it! Add batteries and grid-charging, and you get PRIUS+, a "neighborhood-speed" plug-in hybrid (PHEV). That means no gas when you do your errands on local streets at 35mph. On the highway, it runs just like any other Prius, with the gasoline engine doing most of the work.
They noted that there is empty space underneath the hatchback area. That empty space can be used to install an extra battery pack. In the Prius, the control computer (HV ECU) already knows how to run in "electric-only" mode, and this is enabled through a simple pushbutton on the dashboard. This button is missing in U.S. Prius's.
On the Prius Plus web site are instructions for installing a button for this use. It's simply a matter of running wiring from a button installed into an already existing panel, to connectors on the HV ECU. The instructions do not discuss installation of extra batteries.
Presumably the extra batteries would simply be wired in parallel with the existing battery pack. You could then run a charger connected to both battery packs, and be able to charge them independantly of running the gasoline engine.
Some advantages are:
- Increasing gas-mileage even further, and decreasing emissions even further (NOTE: It can actually decrease mileage and increase emissions)
- Lifetime service costs could be lower, as it reduces the use of the gas motor (electric motors are far more reliable)
- For short trips around the neighborhood, your entire trip could be electric
Discussion groups
PRIUS+ Plug-In Hybrid Conversion Group: More technical details and conversation
Gridable Hybrids: promotes PHEV technologies
Prius-2G: for the latest news about experimenters' successes converting the 2004 Prius
Resources: Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles
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