Convert Old Cordless Tools to Lithium Power: I have several old cordless power tools and they're all in good working condition. The trouble is the batteries all need to be replaced and the batteries are obscenely expensive. I have a really hard time paying for batteries that cost almost as m. Toyota says that nickel metal hydride batteries perfectly suit the needs of hybrids, like the 2010 Prius. It uses a relatively small 1.4 kWh pack.
An inverter serves the same kind of function in a hybrid or EV car, and the theory of operation is relatively simple. DC power, from a hybrid battery, for example, is fed to the primary winding in a transformer within the inverter housing. Through an electronic switch (generally a set of semiconductor transistors), the direction of the flow of current is continuously and regularly flip-flopped (the electrical charge travels into the primary winding, then abruptly reverses and flows back out). The in/outflow of electricity produces AC current in the transformer's secondary winding circuit.
Ultimately, this induced alternating current electricity provides power for an AC load—for example, an (EV) electric traction motor. More properly called a voltage converter, this electrical device actually changes the voltage (either AC or DC) of an electrical power source. There are two types of voltage converters: step up converters (which increases voltage) and step down converters (which decreases voltage). The most common use of a converter is to a take relatively low voltage source and step-it-up to high voltage for heavy-duty work in a high power consumption load, but they can also be used in reverse to reduce voltage for a light load source. An inverter/converter is, as the name implies, one single unit that houses both an inverter and a converter. These are the devices that are used by both EVs and hybrids to manage their electric drive systems.
Along with a built-in charge controller, the inverter/converter supplies current to the battery pack for recharging during, and it also provides electricity to the for vehicle propulsion. Both hybrids and EVs use relatively low-voltage DC batteries (about 210 volts) to keep the physical size down, but they also generally use highly efficient high voltage (about 650 volts) AC motor/generators. The inverter/converter unit choreographs how these divergent voltages and current types work together.