Very often we hear about “regenerative braking” but few know exactly what it is. In this article we will look at all the main aspects together.

Sustainable mobility has also brought into being some new terms that were not used before as they made no sense to exist. One of these is definitely the regenerative braking. The models of electric engines, but also in the various types of hybrids, have a fundamental aspect under the hood. It is in fact the regenerative braking.

Unlike thermal engines, which do not have this aspect, electric and hybrid ones exploit this aspect to increase autonomy and reduce consumption and emissions.

Technically we are talking about a system that goes to recover the energy present in the car. Even more in detail, the kinetic energy of the car, which is normally dispersed in heat by the braking system, is transformed into electrical energy.

All this is created thanks to a reversible electric machine that behaves like a generator when braking. In this way, as soon as the car brakes, this electric car starts up and generates electricity.

The rotor in practice induces an electromotive force in the stator which goes to produce electricity. The latter is then stored in a small battery or in a large battery depending on the car.

Furthermore, during the acceleration phase, the energy that was previously stored during braking will be used to start the engine. In this way the consumption will be reduced for both hybrid and electric motors 100%.

Obviously a lot also depends on the driving style that the driver has. All this happens above all in electric cars where the autonomy depends a lot on the driving style of the subject.

If we are lovers of sporty driving, clearly there will be important aspects to consider for regenerative braking. However, we must consider that braking and accelerating sharply and sharply leads the car to higher consumption.

We must therefore always try to maintain a trend that is as linear and as stable as possible in order to see the car's autonomy rate increase more and more. This is whether the car has a thermal engine, whether the car has an electric or hybrid engine.

An intelligent guide can also contemplate the recovery of kinetic energy during the descent phases. If we are traveling on the beautiful Sienese hills, very often our car will be taken to a slope and a descent.

In this case we could release the accelerator slightly and make the car store as much energy as possible thanks to regenerative braking. Obviously we must not take out the gear, but always keep the car with a gear engaged to allow the car not to enter a neutral situation.

Of course regenerative braking makes no sense when the car is fully loaded under the side of the electric motor.