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What affects an electric car'srange in winter?
Just like combustion-powered cars, electric cars are also victims of winter and the cold. Let's take a closer look.
Lithium-ion battery technology
When winter arrives, the cold will first attack the car's batteries. As you know, most electric cars are equipped with lithium-ion batteries.
As a reminder, the lithium-ion battery produces high energy density due to electrochemical reactions. When it's cold, the electrons don't circulate as they should, and this has a direct impact on battery charging, which takes a little longer. Secondly, when the electric car is in motion, as the battery supplies little energy, it discharges much faster and the car electric car loses up to 41% of its range on averageaccording to the American Automotive Association (AAA).
For these batteries to be able to use their full capacity, lithium ion batteries like to be at ambient room temperature for rapid recharging.
High use of heating
It's true that using a heater in the car is always good for comfort. But heating consumes a lot of energy. As a result, the battery will also have little energy to provide when the electric car is in motion.
How do charging stations react in winter?
We've just seen that electric cars are not spared from the cold, but what about charging stations ?
When charging stations are faced with extreme cold, recharging an electric car takes a little longer.
And to make sure you can recharge your electric vehicle anywhere, Beev offers you a charging cardgiving you access to over 300,000 recharging points throughout Europe.
6 tips for optimizing battery life in winter
Fortunately, there are some simple tricks you can use to keep your your electric car's range. Here are 6 easy-to-follow tips:
1. Prefer heated seats
When it's cold, heating up the whole interior may bring comfort, but it takes a lot of energy. To avoid this, opt for seat and steering wheel heating. Today's electric models are equipped with heated seats and even a heated steering wheel. Heated seats and steering wheels consume less energy than conventional heating systems.
2. Preconditioning your electric vehicle
Before setting off for work, we recommend that you precondition your vehicle, i.e. turn on the heater before getting into the car while the car is still connected to the charging station.
If you want to save even more time, you can preheat your electric car remotely or schedule it for a specific time, thanks to the mobile app connected to it.
This means the electric vehicle won't need to use battery power to heat the car. By the way, if you're looking for this feature, you can find it on the following electric cars:
What's more, our Beev experts can advise you on the right electric car for your needs and budget.
3. Switch to eco-driving mode
Do you know the eco-driving mode ? It's a mode that allows you to drive more ecologically and more smoothly. the aim is to accelerate progressively and brake more gently. In other words, the aim is to avoid dynamic or sporty driving. To achieve this, anticipation is and will remain the key to smooth driving.
What's more, for even greener driving, consider using your regenerative brakeThis will help you recuperate energy and gain in autonomy.
4. Parking your electric car indoors
If this is possible for you, consider park your electric car indoorssuch as in a garage or enclosed parking lot.
By doing so, you spare your electric car from the bitter cold. What's more, as we saw earlier, the cold makes batteries less efficient. So, by keeping your electric car indoors, the battery will also be at room temperature and will retain more or less its capacity.
5. Check tire condition
Whatever the season, it's important to check the condition of your tires. If they are not regularly checked, bad weather conditions will damage tyres damage tires twice as much, and reduce their effectiveness on slipperyor snow-covered roads.
To find out if your tires are worn, you need to :
- check whether your tires are old (over 5 years)
- look for wear indicators on tires. By law, tire treads must be at least 1.6 mm high. If the tread indicators are showing, your tires are worn.
- check the sidewalls for signs of weakness. Look out for any bubbles or cracks that may be present.
- check tires for over- or under-inflation to avoid over-consumption and the risk of accidents.
In addition to this, opt for winter tiresfor greater safety and to cope with snow and ice in the best possible conditions.
6. Schedule electric vehicle charging
When it comes to recharging, you can you can program your charging times in advance before you hit the road, day or night.
By programming the charging of your electric vehicle, recharging will naturally heat up the battery, thus preconditioning it. A battery at temperature will give you more range than a cold battery..
To make this possible, you'll need to install a socket or charging point at home. Having a charging point close at hand offers several advantages:
- you can recharge your vehicle whenever you like
- improve your energy impact by reducing your carbon footprint
- you add value to your home
To find out more, discover all the other advantages of installing a home charging station.
In fact, today's charging stations have this programming programming functionality. Contact our Beev experts for more information.
In conclusion
As we've just seen, cold weather affects the electric car's range. To avoid a drop in your car's performance, it's important to maintain it dailyand this, whatever the climatic conditions, during heatwaves and in winter.
How do you keep your electric car in good condition over the winter? If you have any other tips, don't hesitate to share them in the comments.
