Happy EV Loan

ALLIY’S EV JOURNAL:

Thursday, October 11^th 2018

Today’s travels took me up to the Crested Butte office, to pick up the Leaf and bring it back down to Gunnison for a member to borrow.  I was a little nervous driving around in the snow, not knowing how the EV would handle, but it took me where I needed to go without any issues.  It got me thinking about whether there are any differences in winter care between EVs and vehicles with combustion engines and if EVs need special treatment in the winter.  Come to find out, they DO!  Here are some tips and tricks to prolong your EV battery in the winter, while staying comfortable during your drive.

1.      PRECONDITION YOUR BATTERY!

This is the single most recommended thing you should do.  If your car offers the option of setting a time to depart and warming up the battery while it's still plugged in (and most of them do), use it!

Remember, a cold battery is not nearly as efficient as a warm one. Some models even go the extra step and warm up the cabin while plugged in as well.

By not using battery energy, this can increase your initial range in cold weather by 15 percent to 20 percent. It's well worth it. .

2.     USE THE ECO MODE SETTING

Like preconditioning, this is a must for winter driving. Most electric cars have an Eco or lower energy-usage drive setting.

The Eco mode may make your car feel slower, but it is there for a reason: it boosts range by making your electric car operate more efficiently.

Eco mode also reduces the power output of the electric motor, which can help traction in snow and ice, just like starting out in third gear in a conventional car.

3.     BUNDLE UP

Another very effective form of range enhancement is to bundle up: keep your coat on, and wear a hat, scarf and gloves.

Yes, this is different from the warm cabin you can have within a few minutes in a gasoline car.

That comes from a small portion of the 75 percent of the gasoline energy that's wasted in heat and noise by a combustion engine that operates at just 25-percent efficiency.

In other words, its enormous waste of energy is keeping you warm.

Don’t worry if you think you look like a dork; the real dork is the guy stranded on the side of the road because he ran out of juice. 

4.     USE SEAT HEATERS and STEERING WHEEL HEATERS

Just use them, they don’t use that much juice.

It turns out, based on a couple of studies, that passengers whose backs and backsides are warm feel like the car is much warmer than it actually is.

The same applies to warm fingers if you have a steering-wheel heater as well.

5.    STAY AT 65 mph or LESS

Any car uses more energy at highway speeds, because aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed. Above 30 or 35 mph, it uses more energy to push the wind aside than it does to move 2 tons of metal.

In freezing temperatures, your batteries are less efficient, so they have to work harder to maintain highway speeds: it is a range suck. 

Your car is also ingesting cold air and passing it over your batteries at a much faster rate. 

Keep your speed under 65 mph and, when you can, avoid the highway altogether.

Similarly, chill out, no pun intended, when driving.

Think twice about passing the car in front of you or beating that other guy off the line. Electric cars are exceptionally good for that, of course.

It might be fun but you just cost yourself range and its worse because your battery must work harder in the cold. 

Stay with the flow of traffic, look ahead to see if you need to gradually accelerate for an incline.  Keep your momentum and watch your power usage gauge.

6.     USE THE SUN

I don't mean solar panels for charging, although obviously those are a very good thing too.

But try to park out in the sun to warm up your batteries as well as the interior. 

I can’t stress enough on how well this actually works, especially if your electric car will be sitting outside for a while—during your workday, for example.

7.     CYCLE MAX DEFROST ON and OFF

Windows can fog up in cold weather, so you will need to use the defrosters, front and rear.  For the windshield, I turn on max defrost when I need it. 

Depending on your electric car, defrosters can uses battery capacity even faster than the standard heat, but they'll quickly and effectively clear your windshield.

Once that's done, turn it off. And the same applies to the rear defroster.

Over time, I've found that this technique actually helped me squeeze out 5 to 10 more miles overall.

8.     USE THE HEATER, AT A LOW LEVEL

Yes, resistance heating uses precious battery capacity.  But, not using it during winter will lose you passengers for certain, not to mention creating such a disincentive you won't want to drive your electric car no matter how bundled up you may be.

Many electric-car owners don't know that turning on the heat after it's been off for a long time uses more energy, because it must work harder to heat up the cabin.

I keep my heater on, set to 70 degrees, and I raise the fan speed a notch at a time if I need a little more.

This way the car, after preconditioning the interior, won’t need to work as hard to keep cabin temp at a human level.

9.     REGEN WHEN YOU CAN

Regenerative braking slows down the car without using friction brakes, which are a total waste of energy that turns into heat and is dissipated into the atmosphere.

More importantly, regeneration also puts energy back into the battery.  In winter, that's even more important.

Proper use of the car's regen can extend the car's range 10 percent to 15 percent.

On long downhill runs while the car is slowly recharging, I’ll turn the heat up to take advantage of the juice being put back into the battery.  (It may take a little practice, but once you have it down it becomes second nature.)

10.  PLUG IN WHEN YOU CAN

Charging not only gives you miles back but warms the battery. Even a trickle charge on a standard 12o-volt outlet is useful, especially if you are there for a few hours. 

Level 2 charging at 240 volts will give your battery even more warmth, while a DC Fast Charge (DCFC) will make it nice and toasty.  Even just 15 minutes on a DC fast charger helps.

A warmer battery is a happier battery—and, don’t forget, while the car is plugged in you can also precondition the cabin.

Note that charging takes more time with a cold battery. The 30-minute quick charge were counting on to give you an 80-percent boost might only give you 50 percent. Make sure you plan for that.

11.  CLEAN OFF YOUR CAR

One more thing, keep your car as clean of ice, slush and road debris as possible. It adds weight and hurts the aerodynamics, which matter if you do a lot of highway miles.

12. HOW ABOUT DRIVING IN SNOW and ICE?

I find electric cars in these types of conditions are very good, assuming you don’t have summer tires on (I strongly recommend winter tires!) and you are careful. 

I made it through some very tough winters with all-season tires, and all but one of my electric cars has been rear-wheel drive.

As mentioned earlier, like any driver, you need to slow down and plan ahead.  Use the car's Eco mode to reduce off the line acceleration. 

Remember the drive is more direct, because EVs don't have transmissions or revving engines that can produce a rubber-band effect on snow.

All of these techniques will help electric-car drivers gain back or hold the line on lost range in cold weather.

Sure, you can garage your car in a heated garage, but once it goes outside it won’t take long for it to feel the effects of the cold.

Note also that if you leave your car outside and unplugged during a full workday, without any sun and in frigid temperatures, your battery will be ice cold—and it may have used some of its energy to keep itself at a sustainable temperature.

That means that its power delivery will also be down, possibly way down as shown by missing power bars on your energy gauge. Don’t be alarmed! That is the car protecting itself.

Once it's warmed up, those power bars will return and its acceleration will feel more normal. The best thing you can do is be aware that it may happen, bundle up, know where your public charging sites are ... and, in extremis, text home to have some hot chocolate waiting. 

SOURCE: “Driving electric cars in winter: tips from experienced owner” by John Voelcker https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1109449_driving-electric-cars-in-winter-tips-from-experienced-owner