In urban areas, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) both offer improved fuel efficiency compared to conventional vehicles, but they differ in how they achieve this efficiency.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs)
- Fuel Economy: HEVs are designed to optimize city driving, taking advantage of regenerative braking to recharge their small batteries. This leads to higher city MPG ratings because they can often rely solely on their electric motor during low-speed conditions.
- Battery Size: HEVs use a small battery, typically less than 1 kWh, which is primarily recharged through regenerative braking and the combustion engine.
- Real-World Efficiency: HEVs tend to be closer to their claimed fuel efficiencies, with real-world usage averaging about 10% over claimed fuel use on trip computers and 20% with fuel measured at the pump.
Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)
- Fuel Economy: PHEVs have larger batteries (often 10-20 times larger than HEVs) that allow them to run solely on electric power for short distances, typically between 20 to 50 miles. This results in very high fuel economy in urban areas where trips are often shorter.
- Battery Size and Charging: The larger battery in PHEVs is charged via an external power source (plugging in), which significantly increases their potential for all-electric driving in urban environments.
- Real-World Efficiency: While PHEVs often have impressive fuel efficiency claims, they may not meet these claims as closely as HEVs. Real-world data shows PHEVs average 45% over claimed fuel use on trip computers and 73% over when measured at the pump. However, they still use less fuel than hybrids in many scenarios.
In summary, both types of vehicles are efficient in urban settings, but PHEVs can offer superior fuel efficiency over short distances when used in electric mode, though they may not meet their theoretical efficiency as closely as HEVs do in real-world scenarios.
Original article by NenPower, If reposted, please credit the source: https://nenpower.com/blog/how-do-phevs-and-hevs-compare-in-terms-of-real-world-fuel-efficiency-in-urban-areas/
