How Does Cold Weather Affect Your Electric Vehicle
Much like the rest of us, cold weather affects an electric vehicle (EV); how it drives and how it charges. You might find you are needing to frequently drive to a vehicle charging point when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. When below 40 degrees, there is less current produced by an electric vehicle‘s battery and if the charge drops too low, it can be drained almost immediately. It is important to remember to keep at least 20% of your charge to avoid this.
Electric cars have constantly developed their battery time and technological features. With the new Gigafactory beginning construction in Northumberland, most likely batteries will not require liquid inside and consequently, will not be as reactive to the cold. However, until then, EV drivers need to be aware of the risks of the daily commute in the winter. There are many ways a dead battery can be avoided during the winter months.
Precondition
If you know you have a long journey ahead, it might be worth considering preconditioning your car while it is charging. Whether this is at a home vehicle charging point, or your own portable EV charger, turning the heat on 30 minutes before you start driving will warm up your battery and help maximise how far you can drive. Make sure you only precondition your car, however, when you’re charging. You don’t want to waste any further energy that could be used for your journey. This also means you don’t have to heat your car whilst driving, saving charge this way also.
Change Your Driving
All vehicles should drive carefully through cold weather, as snow, ice and the dreaded black ice can make cars skid, causing accidents. Speed drains the battery also. You should slow down when driving in cold weather for both of these reasons and essentially, further your driving range. Eco mode varies depending on the electric vehicle. Yet, they all still work to reduce your power consumption and increase your energy supply for journeys. The speed typically slows as well in this setting, doing the work for you and making your driving safer.
Use a Garage
If you’re lucky enough to have extra space, garages are a great way to keep your electric vehicle out of the cold and stored away in the winter months. It might be more accessible parking on your driveway, but this can cause problems for electric vehicles. Leaving your car in the cold overnight will lower its overall temperature; icing the windows over and draining the battery. Sure, your garage is usually a place for unwanted items and bikes you think you’ll ride. But, tidying up this space and parking your electric vehicle will save you charge and the warm air will positively affect your driving experience.
This can also apply to any indoor parking space. If you are heading to places like entertainment complexes, shopping centres or the standard IKEA, try and park inside instead of on the street. If there’s a vehicle charging point, great! But if not, you can still keep your electric car warm, saving its battery.
Portable EV Charging Solutions
In the cold months, you should think ahead and plan when to charge. Though more and more EV charging points are being installed, there still isn’t enough to meet demand. So, as a result of this and longer charging times due to the weather, queues will more than likely build up. Therefore, alternatives should be considered.
Destination charging is a perfect example. With this portable charger, you get to decide where and when to recharge your battery. It decreases range anxiety and the need to go to public charging stations. You shouldn’t let your charge drop below 20% and this is a great option to make sure that never happens. It is important to find reliable and cost-effective EV charging companies for these products.
Here at Elite EV Charge, we provide temporary and permanent portable EV charging solutions for electric vehicles across the UK. We want to lower the planet’s carbon footprint one charger at a time and move to a greener society. Whether it is for events such as music festivals or off-grid journeys, we want to assure electric vehicle drivers that they can remain charged anywhere. No matter how unpractical it may initially seem.
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