PHEV Conversions

PHEV Background Information

Eetrex specializes in converting the most popular hybrids on the market, the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, with our advanced Smart Charge and Inverger™ technologies.

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid vehicle with batteries that can be recharged by connecting a plug to an electric power source. It shares the characteristics of both traditional hybrid electric vehicles, having an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, and also having a plug to connect to the electric grid to recharge the batteries.

A PHEV has three modes of operation: Electric Vehicle (EV), Charge Sustain (CS) and Charge Deplete (CD)

  • EV mode is when the vehicle is operating as a pure electric vehicle, and the internal combustion engine is off. A Toyota Prius PHEV can be in EV mode for speeds less than about 35 mph. A Ford Escape PHEV can be in EV mode when the system is warm, ambient air temperatures are more than 43 degrees F, and driving below 35 mph.
  • CS mode is when the PHEV acts as a conventional Hybrid Electric Vehicle, sustaining an average battery charge through discharge and charge cycles.
  • CD mode occurs when the PHEV battery's charge is depleting, thus displacing the use of gasoline in the internal combustion engine by about 50%. This will continue until the battery's charge is depleted to about 20%, then it will shift automatically to CS mode. CD mode is the most desired state for a PHEV.

The cost for electricity to power PHEVs for all-electric operation is estimated to be less than one quarter of the cost of gasoline. Compared to conventional vehicles, PHEVs can reduce air pollution, dependence on petroleum, and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Plug-in hybrids use no fossil fuel during their all-electric range if their batteries are charged from nuclear or renewable energy sources. Other benefits include improved national energy security, fewer fill-ups at the filling station, convenience of home recharging, opportunities to provide emergency backup power in the home, and vehicle to grid applications.


Eetrex Charge Control—Smart Charge and V2G

The hardware used in Charge Control (V2G or Smart Charge) monitors the vehicle when driving or when plugged-in. The information is available over the Internet to the vehicle owner, for the purpose of tracking and optimizing the performance of the vehicle. With Smart Charge, power only flows from the grid to the car, while in V2G power can flow in either direction.

These Charge Control technologies will also allow an electric utility company to control a PHEV's charging or discharging in real time, to postpone PHEV charging during time of peak demand, store energy during times of excess capacity or maximum wind and solar production, or to buy back energy from a PHEV's battery as needed for load leveling or grid stabilization.


Links to Resources of PHEV information