{"id":22146,"date":"2024-01-18T19:13:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T13:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/ev-drivers-wrestle-with-cold-weather-sapping-their-battery-range\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T19:13:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T13:43:02","slug":"ev-drivers-wrestle-with-cold-weather-sapping-their-battery-range","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/ev-drivers-wrestle-with-cold-weather-sapping-their-battery-range\/","title":{"rendered":"EV drivers wrestle with cold weather sapping their battery range"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]\n<\/p>\n

\n

Winter weather can cause bigger headaches for electric vehicle drivers than shoveling their driveways. Many are finding cold temperatures reduce their cars\u2019 driving range.<\/p>\n

Fully electric vehicles, which run exclusively on battery packs, typically lose an average of 41% of their range when outdoor temperatures drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the heat\u2019s cranked on, AAA researchers have found. That\u2019s because batteries don\u2019t work as efficiently in the cold and regulating cabin temperature can gobble up a significant amount of power, depending on how a car\u2019s HVAC system is designed.<\/p>\n

It was a rough time to start driving for Uber in Chicago this month, said Marcus Campbell, who signed up with the ride-hailing company last week using a rented car. Campbell said he has already found the frigid weather buffeting the Windy City can make for a longer workday and fewer fares, requiring him to spend several hours waiting his turn at a charging station and powering up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I should be asleep, I\u2019m outside charging my vehicle, falling asleep in my car,\u201d he told NBC News\u2019 Adrienne Broaddus. \u201cI\u2019m not making any money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many drivers across the country are likely to face frustrations like Campbell\u2019s this winter.<\/p>\n

There are more EVs on American roadways than ever before, with a record 1.2 million sold nationwide in 2023, according to Cox Automotive. Sales are still rising, but some consumers have been put off by a dearth of charging infrastructure that remains a work in process. Now, the bitter cold sweeping parts of the U.S. is giving many current and would-be EV drivers another reason for \u201crange anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"An<\/picture>
EV batteries work less efficiently in very cold weather, requiring some drivers to charge their vehicles more frequently.<\/span>William Hale Irwin \/ Sipa USA via AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The way engines work plays a big part in how a car is heated, said Scott Case, the CEO of Recurrent, a company that measures EV battery performance. Around 10% of a gas engine vehicle\u2019s energy is used for forward momentum, compared to 90% in EVs, he said. With all-electric models, \u201cthere\u2019s not a lot of waste heat that you can just use to warm up the cabin,\u201d Case said, which puts more onus on the battery to do so.<\/p>\n

Auto industry experts said EVs built with heat pumps for warming their interiors will undergo less battery strain in cold weather. Most newer models have them, but less efficient \u201cresistive\u201d heaters are more common in older vehicles. Case estimated that EVs with heat pumps lose an average 20% of their range in extreme weather, compared with up to 40% in those without heat pumps.<\/p>\n

\n

There\u2019s not a lot of waste heat that you can just use to warm up the cabin.<\/p>\n

Scott Case, CEO of Recurrent<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The age of a vehicle\u2019s battery can also affect how it performs in cold temperatures, said Alex Knizek, Consumer Reports\u2019 manager of automotive testing and insights.<\/p>\n

\u201cBatteries in your EV do degrade over time, just like your smartphone after you charge it and discharge it a bunch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Consumer Reports\u2019 testing of four popular EV models \u2014 the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Volkswagen ID-4, the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla Model Y \u2014 also found significant battery depletion in cold weather. Battery range dropped 25% from spring to winter and 30% from summer to winter, with the researchers looking at temperatures near zero Fahrenheit for the coldest conditions and around 80 degrees in the summer.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/picture>
An electric vehicle charges during a snowstorm in Austria in 2020.<\/span>K M Krause \/ Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Chicago, tow truck driver David Birts said his company\u2019s calls have increased substantially since Friday, mostly because of stuck EVs. \u201cI have never seen this volume for electric cars,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Knizek noted that all cars lose some efficiency in extreme weather, especially when it\u2019s very cold. But EVs, for now, lose more than their gas-burning counterparts. And the issue can be more urgent for EV drivers because recharging takes longer than refueling at gas pumps, which so far remain more pervasive than charging stations in much of the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the automakers want to get more EVs on the road,\u201d said Greg Morrison of Bumper2BumperTV, \u201cthey need to work in tandem with those who are providing public charging and those who are selling home charging units, so that it\u2019s not as much of a crisis at these charging stations.\u201d<\/p>\n

EVs can help reduce the 29% of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to transportation in the U.S. every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. That\u2019s one reason the Biden administration has committed billions of dollars through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support charging infrastructure and speed electrification of the nation\u2019s transportation system.<\/p>\n

\n

Batteries in your EV do degrade over time, just like your smartphone.<\/p>\n

Alex Knizek, manager of automotive testing and insights, Consumer Reports<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In the meantime, for prospective and current EV drivers looking to maximize their range in cold weather, \u201cit all comes down to trying to maintain the temperature of the battery and the interior of the car,\u201d Knizek said.<\/p>\n

One common approach is called pre-conditioning. Turning on the heat while an EV is still plugged in \u2014 which can often be done through a smartphone app connected to the vehicle \u2014 will use energy from the charging station, rather than the battery, to heat the cabin. \u201cThe benefit to you is not only extra range, but you also show up to a nice, toasty, comfortable car,\u201d Knizek said.<\/p>\n

Automakers tend to advise against keeping all-electric cars parked outdoors in cold weather for extended periods, he said. So drivers with garage space may want to move their vehicles there when temperatures plunge.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re shopping for an electric vehicle that you\u2019ll need to drive in cold weather, Knizek advised opting for the longest-range model you can afford. That way, if you lose a little range in the winter or during other extreme weather, it won\u2019t be a dealbreaker for your daily driving needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t necessarily know how much degradation a battery has when you shop for it,\u201d Knizek said. Services like Recurrent and others can give EV buyers a better idea of how various models\u2019 batteries will perform over time, he said, including in different weather conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[ad_1] Winter weather can cause bigger headaches for electric vehicle drivers than shoveling their driveways. Many are finding cold temperatures reduce their cars\u2019 driving range. Fully electric vehicles, which run exclusively on battery packs, typically lose an average of 41% of their range when outdoor temperatures drop to 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the heat\u2019s cranked …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22146"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22146\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}