why can't the the wheels turning on a car be used to charge a hybrid battery?

Question

i know that braking is used to charge the battery in a hybrid car, but why can't the wheels spinning be used in a similar fashion? electricity is generated by turing turbines of various kinds, windmills, waterfalls, even in a coal buring electrical plant electricity is generated by spinning turbines. whould not a car using the same principle be able to run just about endlessly?

Answer 1

I am sure they can but it will take energy from the power used to propell the car forward and that amount of energy taken may not be as efficient to be used to charge the battery

Answer 2

It is easier, faster, and more economical to use the same kind of alternator that any other car uses. The expense of building alternators (generators) into wheels would be enormous. It is possible to have a small engine driving a generator that would power the car, and keep the batteries charged. That was not the design that was accepted. Please remember, the best design may not be the best money making design. There is still gas to sell and the automotive industry is not going to cut into that. One point to remember in your question, those generating plants are not moving down the road. They are very much fixed, so their way of operating is not going to work for a car.

Answer 3

Because then power would be used to make power. The brakes actually produce a lot of energy, so that's sufficient for charging the batteries. Cars with more batteries are plug-in hybrids, where the car is plugged in overnight, so that the extra batteries can be charged.
I suppose charging the batteries could be used, but too much friction would be created.

Answer 4

When the car is 'braking' it is actually using the turning wheels of the car. The generator puts a load on the wheels making them harder to spin and they slow down; thus slowing the car. If the generator was used while the car was accelerating it would put a load on the engine and the car would not accelerate or would not accelerate fast enough. Energy isn't free!

Answer 5

What about using fan generators under the car. When the vehicle is in motion the wind under it will spin the fan motors creating energy using the Aerodynamics of the car to recharge the batteries. There would be no resistance on the wheels. The wind resistance would be nominal because the power of the wind under the vehicle is pushed under it with great velocity.

Answer 6

If you extracted energy from the turning of the wheels to charge the batteries you would cause the engine to work harder, and as a result, the engine would burn or use more fuel/energy. This extra energy used by the engine would be equal to the energy you extracted from the rotation of the wheels to charge the battery.
This is a good way to charge the batteries, but it does not result in any fuel/energy savings or an increase in mpg.

Answer 7

Two sets of batteries. One to be charged by the spinning of the wheels the other to propel the vehicle? switch when power runs out

Answer 8

because neglecting air resistance and friction on the road there is no forces on the wheels when the vehicle is not breaking. if there's no wind or water to spin a turbine it can't create energy. when you break, however, you create frictional force which engineers have discovered can be recycled back to the car battery.

its hard to imagine but if you drove in a vacuum and on a frictionless road once you stopped accelerating your car (top speed) you would be able to cruise at that speed indefinitely with no added energy. that means you could turn your car off in neutral and you'd maintain your speed. hybrid vehicles are unique in that once you reach your top speed they are very efficient with their gas consumption. additionally, they utilize the energy created when you break.