If you service and repair autos, SUVs and light trucks, get ready for Hybrid Electric Drive Vehicles, abbr. HEVs. They are here now. New car manufacturers are diligently working to produce HEVs. Honda has the Honda Accord and Honda Civic. Toyota has the Toyota Prius, Camry, and Highlander, Lexus the RX400h and GS450h, Ford the Escape and Mercury the Mariner. These three manufacturers have HEVs in the showroom now and other manufacturers are bringing HEVs to their showrooms. Consumers can expect to get about 40-50 mpg in city driving with some models and without sacrificing performance while greatly reducing emissions. The reasons for HEV technology in vehicles today are this. They are very fuel efficient and generate very low emissions. But there is another reason that puts HEVs in your service bay sooner than you realize. Vehicle manufacturers are incorporating HEV technology in some vehicle platforms which provide only a 10-12% improvement in fuel economy. So why go with electric drive technology for only a 10-12% increase in mpg? The reason is that a car manufacturer can use a smaller gasoline engine for vehicle cruising and handling light vehicle loads (for better mpg and low emissions). But when more power is needed to accelerate from a stop, go up a hill, pull a trailer or pass on the highway, the smaller gasoline engine might need a little help to meet the driver's performance expectations. Then an electric drive motor, powered by a NiMH battery pack, automatically kicks in to temporarily boost vehicle power and performance by assisting the gasoline engine.

The driver gets the performance boost he needs but only when he needs it. Meanwhile the vehicle operates with a smaller gasoline engine for better mpg during normal driving. To further cut emissions and improve fuel economy an HEV can be programmed to shut off its engine at a stop light and start moving again on electric drive motor power using high voltage battery technology till the gasoline engine starts back up when reaching its optimum torque range and takes over.

The gasoline engine is also used to recharge the battery pack so it's always near full charge as well as employing regenerative braking which translates the braking energy of the HEV into energy to recharge the battery pack. These are just a few of the interesting features that makes HEV technology a viable option.

Developments in power electronic components (solid-state components that can safely handle several hundred amps) and advanced AC or DC electric drive motors, computer control and programming makes switching power between the gasoline engine or electric drive motor appear to be seamless to the driver that will make HEV technology very common.

A vehicle with some form of HEV technology will become as common as a car or pickup with only a gasoline engine is today. It is estimated that in a few years there will be over one million hybrid electric drive vehicles on the road. If oil supplies become scarce and gasoline prices continue to rise expect a dramatic rise in HEV vehicles beyond these industry predictions.

Are you ready for this new service opportunity? Vince Fischelli has written a new training manual called "Essential AC Electric Theory and Basic Circuits of Hybrid Electric Drive Vehicles." Over 100 pages covering essential AC electric theory with schematic diagrams you need to understand the electrical/electronic circuits of HEVs which are different from typical gasoline cars and light trucks.

Begin now reading about this new HEV technology and get a head start. Over 75 diagrams and schematics are used to illustrate various circuits and operating concepts to help you grasp HEV circuit technology. Lot's of HEV technology on the horizon.

What this new HEV training manual covers:
AC electrical theory is a lot different from DC electrical theory. Therefore the first section of the manual is a fairly in depth discussion of AC electric theory as opposed to DC electric theory.

For example, in AC circuits, current flows in two directions at different times, not one direction all the time as in DC circuits. AC current can flow when AC voltage is zero. This is not possible in DC circuits. In AC circuits AC current is out-of-phase with AC voltage (current lags voltage or voltage lags current at certain times) which makes AC circuits a lot more difficult to understand and test. Yes, AC electricity is a lot different from DC electricity in the way it behaves. This new manual by Vince covers these concepts and more. How about 3-Phase AC. Do you know how it works? You should because all hybrid electric drive motors are 3-Phase.

After you have read about AC electrical theory in this new manual by Vince, it goes into DC/DC Converters, high voltage battery packs, the high power electronic circuits of electric drive motors, electric motor assist and regeneration of battery pack charge using an HEV's kinetic energy.

Explanations are keyed to the Honda Insight and Civic and Toyota's Prius. These HEVs are already on the road. You can order Vince's new HEV training manual and get started learning about the hybrid electric drive revolution coming in autos, SUVs and light trucks.