Hybrid Part 2 – Recovering Formerly Wasted Energy

Truck Talk
Volume 2 Number 4

We touched on the basics of hybrid power systems for commercial vehicles in part one of our hybrid series, this time out, we dig a little deeper into Eaton’s Hydraulic Launch Assist (HLA) system, and the hybrid electric system (HEV). Launch Assist can recover about 180 hp from vehicle braking and convert it to useable power to get the vehicle underway again – with almost no help from the engine. It’s purely hydraulic, and it’s well suited to applications where there’s a lot of stop-and-go driving, like on a garbage pick-up route or a transit bus.

And then there are the electrical systems, which use batteries to power various electrically operated chassis equipment, with energy recovered from braking events, or generated by the engine itself. But do electrical systems, especially ones that operate with significant voltage and current, pose a threat to safety? We’ll find out how isolating the system from the chassis protects technicians, emergency responders, operators, and the public from a high-voltage encounter.

In part two of our hybrid discussion, Mike Sharpe and Robert Golin of Eaton explain the benefits and the process of turning formerly wasted energy into useable power to launch the vehicle and run certain on-board systems, and explain what steps have been taken to make these systems safe and operator friendly.

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