Typical Energy Use for a Car

Cars tend to by inefficient in their use of energy since only a marginal amount of the energy consumed by a car is actually used to provide momentum. What remains is lost in exhaust (33%), cylinder cooling (29%), engine friction (13%), transmission and axles (5.5%) and braking (7.5%). Under some climate circumstances, energy is also used to either heat or cool the section of the vehicle occupied by passengers. There are thus efforts made, such a with hybrid cars, to lessen non-momentum energy consumption. For instance, using the braking system to recharge the car battery.

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