Electric car in winter: myths and reality
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Electric car in winter: myths and reality

Date:30.01.2020

What happens if you drive an electric car in the cold

Content:

Winter is coming! And as always, it came unexpectedly. The beginning of November in Ukraine was marked by the first snow and sharp cold snaps. And newcomer electric car drivers began to think about how the car battery would react to the cold.

In this article, we want to debunk the most popular myths about the peculiarities of operating electric vehicles in winter, dispel the doubts of those who are thinking about switching to eco-friendly transport and give some proven and practical advice from our own experience to all electric motorists.

Myth 1: if you charge an electric car outdoors at sub-zero temperatures, the charging time will stretch indefinitely

The concept of using an electric vehicle involves one simple thing: the most convenient time to charge is at night. This is the most comfortable way in terms of saving time and distributing the load on the power grid. Based on our experience, charging at -10 degrees Celsius is no different from charging in the warm season. Thus, the power reserve in sub-zero temperatures can be 5-10% less than in the warm season - this is due to the fact that the system protects itself from complete discharge.

Myth 2: charge or not, the car battery dies instantly in the cold

This is only possible in technically faulty cars - in serviceable cars, fluctuations in battery power at low temperatures are virtually indistinguishable from the situation in the warm season.

Myth No. 3: in winter, the car's range is significantly reduced

So is the range of a car with an internal combustion engine. An experienced driver will not set off in a cold car, and both electric and internal combustion engine cars use a conditional "car charge" to heat the interior. Another thing is that a technically sound electric car will spend a conditional 15% of charge on warming up, while an internal combustion engine car will use fuel - this corresponds to a charge cost of about 70-80%. Moreover, a battery that has frozen after parking warms up and restores its properties during the trip. If you don't want to lose your range during morning warm-up, you can turn on the pre-start warm-up of the cabin when charging the car, then the heating will be powered by the mains without losing battery power.

What can extend the duration of a trip on a single charge?

  • Use energy recovery to recharge the battery and increase the range by 10-15%.
  • Warm up the batteries - use this function all the time before you plan to drive your car after a long period of parking.
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EcoFactor Team