GREEN BEAN GUIDE

How do hybrid vehicles charge their batteries?

First off, how do Hybrid Vehicles work?

Hybrid vehicles use both gasoline and electricity for power. Regular or Parallel Hybrids, like the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Nissan Altima, have a gasoline engine as well as an electric motor and battery, that can power the vehicle. There are a lot of other types of hybrid vehicles out there (and fully electric vehicles too), but the Regular Hybrids make up the majority of the market, so we’ll focus on them in this article.

Regular or Parallel Hybrid vehicles can be powered in three different ways:

• directly by the gas engine
• by the electric motor and battery
• or by both power sources working together in parallel

OK, so how does that affect the battery?

The computer systems in the vehicle, ultimately determines when to charge the hybrid battery and when to switch between the gas, electric, and parallel modes, but they all work off these same general principles:

• When pulling away from a stop and at low speeds, the electric motor, powered by the battery, moves the vehicle forward.
• At high speeds and when maintaining speed, the gas engine does all the work and recharges the battery that will power the electric motor later.
• Whenever you decelerate or use the brakes, the regenerative braking system turns the friction from the brakes back into electrical energy and stores it in the battery for use later on. 
• And finally, when you accelerate quickly the hybrid uses both the gas engine and the electric motor to power the wheels and get you going for a short period of time.

So, charging the hybrid battery in your vehicle is simple, it’s all done by the onboard computer system.  When maintaining high speeds and during braking, the gas engine and regenerative braking system are working to recharge the hybrid battery!  So regular driving and maintenance will always keep the hybrid battery charged. But remember, these hybrid batteries don’t last forever, so keep your options open when deciding what to do if/when your hybrid battery fails.  You can read more about “What Happens When you Hybrid Battery Dies” HERE.  

Because Green Bean Battery is here to help when the time comes.  Our premium reconditioned hybrid batteries are a great alternative to a new battery from the dealership because they’re nearly half the cost. And then, we come to you, replace your old battery with a reconditioned one, and cover it all with our Green Bean Warranty!