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Notes On Petroleum Consumption : Energy Data From A Range Of Phevs And Hevs

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Petroleum Consumption Figure 4. Potential reduction in CS-mode petroleum consumption [9] The results include petroleum consumption data from a range of PHEVs and HEVs. The graph shows apparent differences between each of the models. The curve at the bottom represents hybrid vehicles that cannot run on electric only mode. Six models are selected from four degrees of hybridization which are micro, mild, medium, and full. Staring from 0% at the bottom left, the curve goes up as the degree of hybridization goes up. The Vue, one micro hybrid car model, can reduce the petroleum usage by 18%, while the Toyota Prius, one of the best full hybrid models in the world, can reduce the petroleum usage over 40%. Even though the Toyota Prius can …show more content…

Even micro HEVs, the hybrid vehicle model with the lowest degree of hybridization, can reduce the petroleum usage over 20%. It is important to know the amount of petroleum consumption of HEVs because a daily 20% reduction can add up. The following figure.5 clearly presents the annual reduction in petroleum. Figure 5. Reduction in Annual Petroleum Consumption (gals.) and the cost increment [9] HEV0 models are full hybrids such as the Toyota Prius. HEV0 reduces annual petroleum consumption from 120 to 200 gallons over a distance of 15,000 miles, while PHEV60 reduces that from 350 to 420 gallons. But what do these data mean? Here I present an example of a conventional vehicle. A CV uses 659 gallons of petroleum each year based on a travel distance of 15,000 miles. HEV0 saves 20%~28% of petroleum, and PHEV60 saves 53%~64% of the petroleum. [9] The reduction of petroleum consumption on PHEV60 is even more than half. It means that, in theory, PHEV60 can travel twice the distance that a CV can in a year. Nevertheless, the vertical axis of the graph tells us more. How can we deal with the cost? Economics Factor As figure 5. Shows, even though PHEVs and HEVs can save a significant amount of petroleum each year and PHEV60 even saves half of the petrol, the incremental cost on the powertrain doubles. It is true that many people would rather buy a cheaper traditional car than a way more expensive

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