[blackwasp]

According to a media report, several owners of electric vehicles (EVs) found the range of their cars severely degraded in extreme cold weather. Impacted vehicles included the Tesla Model 3, Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt amongst others.

During the recent polar vortex that swept across the USA, one Volt user reported a total range of 274 km range instead of the usual 435 km. Other cars like Tesla Model 3 reported a 50-percent degradation while some electric car users reported a 30-percent fall in the total range during the cold weather. Some vehicles reported a lower range in the MID, while others reported a higher power draw in cold climate. In case of the Jaguar iPace, the battery took a longer time to recharge as well.

Electric vehicles have a US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) rated range like ARAI rated fuel economy. However, this is conducted under optimum conditions and many factors like usage of heater / AC, headlights, outside temperature, window defoggers, terrain and driving style affect the total range of the EV.

Batteries offer optimal performance at 21.1 Celsius. At lower temperatures, the internal structure resists the movement of current leading to a reduced storage capacity. In case of higher temperatures, batteries can potentially overheat, which could damage their internal chemistry, eventually leading to a shorter life. Further, most EVs have regenerative braking systems that are also reported to lose their efficiency.



Source: CNBC

Link to the Team-BHP News

[SS-Traveller]

Isn't this obvious and expected? Why hasn't anyone complained about poor FE for IC engines in cold weather? Or why camera batteries drain out faster when operated in sub-zero temperatures? Or even, why does water take too long to boil in frigid weather? What happens to EVs in Scandinavian countries in winter?

[theMAG]

Batteries dont work well in cold - anyone who has lived in areas that are frequented by arctic winds will have experienced their otherwise healthy batteries cannot crank during extreme cold.

Like with everything else that has degraded performance in cold, the EV range-loss also will need to be evaluated by real-world usability rather than reduced range alone.

[supertinu]

I believe this is nothing new. Battery degradation at lower temps has always been known. Ultimately its chemistry which gets impacted with temp. There was a huge debate around this with Tesla Model S as well few years back when people in east coast started to notice this during winters. Even our car batteries conk out very fast in hill stations if they are close to end of life.

[srishiva]

Forget the battery chemistry. It might be getting used more for heating and might be a big drain.

[Jeroen]

There is a little bit more to it than just the effect of extreme cold on battery capacity

Even in the Netherlands Jaguar I pace owners are complaining bitterly. It’s not as if we have a very harsh winter. We have had a few nights just below zero. Otherwise temperatures have been well above zero.

Jaguar Netherlands felts obliged to clarify the range.

Sorry all in Dutch, but I am sure you will get the gist.

Jaguar claims that the 470 km range is only applicable for the lightest version.
They have now also come up with a table of what to expect in different circumstances, measured by some independent authority

Stad in de winter/ City in the winter: 390 kilometer
Snelweg in de winter/ Motorway in the winter: 270 kilometer
Gecombineerd in de winter / Combined winter: 325 kilometer
Stad in de zomer / City in the summer: 555 kilometer
Snelweg in de zomer/ Motorway in the summer: 340 kilometer
Gecombineerd in de zomer Combined summer: 430 kilometer

So it does have the appearances as if the original numbers quoted by Jaguar were overly optimistic to start with and certainly did not differentiate winter/summer city/Motorway etc.

Jaguar is now also providing tips to I-pace. For instance heat the interior prior to setting off in the car whilst it is still connected to the charger station. Pre-heat the battery before setting off, whilst still charging.

jeroen

[HKap]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Isn't this obvious and expected? Why hasn't anyone complained about poor FE for IC engines in cold weather? Or why camera batteries drain out faster when operated in sub-zero temperatures? Or even, why does water take too long to boil in frigid weather? What happens to EVs in Scandinavian countries in winter?

Absolutely. I see a significant drop of ~ 10% on short trips on my car's IC engine. It was painful hearing the engine struggle in last week's polar blast. You can actually hear the engine struggle while warming up first thing in the morning. Its a good 7-8 minutes before the temperature needle starts moving up.

I recently switched my car's engine oil to the Castrol Edge Titanium (synthetic 0W-20) from Acura/Honda's standard oil. I can tell you there is a noticeable difference in cold starts and also the smoothness at high rpms. Overall the quality of oil is much better.


The battery drain or Vampire drain/ghost drain/phantom drain are a known issue with all Tesla cars. It' going to be the same for all electric vehicles. Simple solution, plug the cars in more often. Everybody/Everything needs to stay warm in this weather.

[volkman10]

Study shows electric cars loses 41% of range in extreme cold weather - Tesla refutes the claim!

AAA research released a new study about the effect of temperature on electric vehicle range and they claim that the average electric car range drops “41 percent at 20°F and when the HVAC system is used to heat the inside of the vehicle.

The Tesla Model S was amongst one of five electric vehicles tested as part of this study.

It performed relatively well compared to the some of the other electric vehicles tested.




The Nissan Leaf and the VW e-Golf lost a little less range in the cold than the Model S, but the BMW i3 and the Chevy Bolt EV lost a lot more, based on AAA’s tests:




Tesla disputes the results saying that its own data shows that it is not as bad as what AAA is claiming.

Based on real-world data from our fleet, which includes millions of long trips taken by real Model S customers, we know with certainty that, even when using heating and air conditioning, the average Model S customer doesn’t experience anywhere near that decrease in range at 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and the decrease in range at 95 degrees Fahrenheit is roughly 1%

While the company shared an actual number for the 95 degrees Fahrenheit scenario, it didn’t for the 20 degrees Fahrenheit scenario other than saying that AAA’s number is inaccurate

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