On Sun, 14 Dec 2003 16:09:02 -0000, "Badger"
wrote:


Austin Shackles wrote in message
.. .


the only thing that yer hybrid should allow you to do is to run an
internal
combustion engine at higher efficiency by limiting the rev range etc.

It does a bit better than that because the small engine works harder,
hence its volumetric efficiency is better, it then makes up for the
lower power of the smaller engine by drawing on the power in the
battery for short periods. The energy in the battery is in effect free
as it is recharged when the vehicle is slowing down. This is fine with
stop start driving and hilly areas but I wonder how the algorithm
works on a long motorway trek?

at
which it operates. which is good, but it's always going to involve fossil
fuels somehow.

Yes, not to mention lugging all that battery around, on a long run a
good diesel must be better.

is LPG has proportionally more Hydrogen than Carbon, however, water vapour
is also a greenhouse gas.

But pouring more water vapour into the air does not increase warming,
in fact if it leads to more clouds the change in albedo could have the
opposite effect ;-)


And what do you think happens to all those removed catalytic convertors that
have all sorts of nasties in them when they get removed? Ah, good old
landfill!!!! LPG is currently the only commercially viable alternative fuel
that IS cleaner than petrol or disiesel, hybrids still burn petrol

In principle the hybrid could be built with a SI engine running at
much higher (12:1???) compression ratio and using lpg. Presumably no
cat needed.

More worrying is what the depreciation will be, with a large battery
needing replacing at what cost? Every how many cycles?

AJH