Does weather affect electric car range?
Ever wonder about your electric car range in cold weather or in the summertime? Rytr knows! Get instant climate-specific data on your car’s range based on the Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature.
Whether you’re an enthusiast or just want to find out more about electric cars, you’ve come to the right place.
The range of an EV could be affected due to various factors and temperature is one of them. Is it really a big concern? Let’s find out!
The answer is yes, it can affect your electric car range. But is there a way to find out how much it’s going to affect you before you go?
Generally, the batteries in EVs perform well in moderate temperatures. A mild change in weather would not have a great effect but extreme weather – too hot or too cold could affect the range as far as electric vehicles are concerned.
Let’s find out Does weather affect electric car range?
TOO COLD
Cold weather can affect both the battery’s performance as well as limit its charging ability. Cold batteries have a greater resistance to charging and so they take longer to charge. Once charged, they also do not hold power for too long.
TOO HOT
High temperatures too affect battery performance. And with heat comes the need to use the air conditioner, which adds load on the battery. The driving range decreases in very high temperatures and with the air conditioning on (something that’s a given in such temperatures) it puts an additional load on the battery. Keeping this in mind it is advisable to park an EV in the shade.
To avoid batteries being affected due to extreme temperature, battery thermal management systems designed by automakers help keep batteries within their optimum temperature. This helps minimize the loss in performance and protects the battery from degenerating.
Now you know the answer – Does weather affect electric car range?
