With 2/3 of 2022 already passed, new energy vehicles, especially extended-range electric vehicles, are getting hotter and hotter.
If you take the same gasoline and give the same model the fuel version and the extended-range version, which one is more fuel-efficient? Can it run farther?
This is the question many people have. The essence is which is more efficient, the extended-range power compared to the traditional fuel power.
In terms of efficiency conversion process, every conversion of energy has “waste”, the less the conversion process, the more efficient. The former is chemical energy → mechanical energy → electrical energy → mechanical energy, roughly after 4 energy conversions; the latter is chemical energy → mechanical energy, roughly after 2 energy conversions.
From this point of view, traditional fuel power should be more efficient with fewer energy conversions, but the problem is that each energy conversion also takes into account the actual efficiency and the actual working conditions.
Although the energy conversion of traditional fuel power is less, but the thermal efficiency of the engine is generally not high, more than 40% will be very efficient, and long-term maintenance is difficult, especially in the city stop and go, the actual efficiency may be less than 30%, a serious drag, the integrated power can reach 35% is good.
The advantage of the add-on power is that even in urban conditions, the engine is still in the best working range (generally around 40%) and continues to generate electricity efficiently with gasoline, while the efficiency of the electric motor (electrical energy into mechanical energy) is generally higher than 90% and 95% is the norm, so the combined power of the add-on power can reach more than 37%.
However, under high-speed conditions, the efficiency of traditional fuel power can be maintained at a higher level and can run farther, therefore, certain plug-in hybrid systems take direct fuel drive mode under high-speed conditions.
In general, in urban conditions, the hybrid power is more efficient and can run farther; in high-speed conditions, the traditional fuel power is more efficient and can run farther; in comprehensive conditions, the advantage of the hybrid power is a bit greater.
Of course, like cooking, even if the recipe and ingredients are perfect, it still depends on the cook’s skill, and it doesn’t exclude that some hybrid models are not very efficient.
In addition, this does not mean that the hybrid is environmentally friendly, after all, its main energy is still from fossil fuels, or gasoline, high-speed mode is currently not at all fuel-efficient.
In contrast, pure electric vehicles are more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Compared with the fuel engine, the electric motor is “emotionally” stable, more energy efficient and more energy-saving. As for energy sources, although the current power generation mainly relies on coal, but electricity production has been diversified, and including wind power, hydropower, photovoltaic power and other clean energy ratio is gradually expanding.
Editor’s Note
Compared to pure fuel cars, the extended program power is more fuel-efficient in the city and has no range anxiety, which does have certain advantages.
In the future, the decline in the market size of pure fuel vehicles is inevitable.
However, the incremental power can only be connected in series, not in parallel, and the feeder fuel consumption is relatively high, so it can only be used as the current transition technology.
