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Cold vs Warm Weather in an Electric Vehicle
Every electric vehicle (EV) suffers from range degradation in cold ambient conditions. Battery chemistry slows down when it gets cold resulting in less available energy for the car. If some of the battery’s energy is used to warm itself to a more efficient operating temperature, that too will reduce the state of charge and the car’s overall efficiency. The exact amount depends on how low the temperature is, and how much energy is needed to warm the batteries and the passenger cabin, which can be as much as 40% if you aren’t aware of the best practices to help deal with it.
However, EVs are not alone, gas-powered cars are also less efficient due to cold engine oil and increased idling when warming the car. This too will reduce fuel economy in freezing conditions by an average of 15–20%.
Here is an example from my daily commute that shows the difference in efficiency from warm vs cold weather, using TeslaFi to log all of my Tesla Model 3 data. This is from June 24, 2020, and shows my morning commute to work at around 6 am. The average temp for the drive was 75 degrees (24c), the road conditions were dry and my average speed was 60 miles per hour. My efficiency over my 67-mile…