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What affects theautonomy an electric car in winter?
Like combustion-powered cars, electric cars are also victims of winter and the cold. Let's take a closer look at this issue.
The technology of battery lithium-ion
When winter arrives, the cold will first attack the car's batteries. As you know, most electric cars are fitted with lithium-ion battery.
As a reminder, the lithium-ion battery produces high energy density due to electrochemical reactions. When it's cold, the electrons don't circulate as they should, and this has a direct impact on charging the battery, which will take a little longer. Secondly, when the electric car is in motion, as the battery supplies little energy, it discharges much more quickly and the electric car loses up to 41 % of range on averageaccording to the American Automotive Association (AAA).
For these batteries to be able to use their capacity to the maximum, lithium ion batteries need to be at ambient temperature to accept rapid recharging.
High use of heating
It's true that using a heater in the car is always good for comfort. Except that heating consumes a lot of energy. As a result, the battery will also have little energy to provide when the electric car is in motion.
How do charging points react in winter?
We've just seen that electric cars are not spared from the cold, but what about electric cars? charging stations ?
When recharging points are faced with extreme cold, recharging an electric car takes a little longer.
What's more, to make sure you can recharge your electric vehicle anywhere, Beev offers you a reload cardThis gives you access to more than 300,000 recharging points across Europe.
6 tips for optimising battery life in winter
Fortunately, there are a number of ways of coping with the cold. Simple tips for keeping your electric car running at full range. Here are 6 easy-to-follow tips:
1. Favour heated seats
When it's cold, heating up the whole cabin is certainly comfortable, but it takes a lot of energy. To avoid this, opt for seat and steering wheel heating. Today's electric models are equipped with heated seats and even a heated steering wheel. Heated seats and steering wheels consume less energy than conventional heating systems.
2. Preconditioning your electric vehicle
Before setting off for work, it is advisable to precondition your vehicle, i.e. to turn on the heating before getting into the car while it is still connected to the charging point.
If you want to save even more time, you can preheat your electric car remotely or schedule it for a specific time, using the mobile application connected to it.
This means the electric vehicle won't need to use battery power to heat the car. In fact, if you're looking for this feature, you can find it on the following electric cars:
What's more, our Beev experts can advise you on the electric car that's right for you, in line with your budget and needs.
Monday to Friday
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3. Switch to eco-driving mode
Do you know the eco-driving mode ? This is a more environmentally friendly and flexible way of driving, where the aim will be to accelerate gradually and brake more gently. In other words, the aim will be to avoid dynamic or sporty driving. To achieve this, anticipation is and will remain the key to smooth driving.
What's more, to make your driving even more environmentally friendly, consider using your regenerative brakeThis will help you to recover energy and become more independent.
4. Parking your electric car indoors
If this is possible for you, consider park your electric car indoorsIt can also be used in a garage or closed car park, for example.
By doing so, you're protecting your electric car from the bitter cold. What's more, as we saw earlier, the cold makes the batteries perform less well. So, by keeping your electric car indoors, the battery will also be at room temperature and will retain more or less its capacity.
5. Check the condition of the tyres
Whatever the season, it's always important to check the condition of your tyres. If they are not checked regularly, bad weather conditions will damage tyres twice as much and reduce their effectiveness on slippery roadsor snow-covered.
To find out if your tyres are worn, you need to :
- check that your tyres are not old (more than 5 years)
- Look at the wear indicators on the tyres. By law, tyre treads must be at least 1.6 mm high. If the tread wear indicators are showing, your tyres are worn.
- check the sidewalls for any signs of weakness. Look out for any bubbles or cracks in the tyres.
- check that tyres are not over- or under-inflated, to avoid over-consumption and the risk of accidents.
On top of that, opt for winter tyresThis will ensure greater safety and provide the best possible conditions for coping with snow and ice.
6. Programming the recharging of the electric vehicle
For recharging, you can schedule charging times in advance before hitting the road, day or night.
By programming the charging of your electric vehicle, recharging will naturally heat up the battery and therefore act as a preconditioner for it. A battery with ambient temperature will give more autonomy than a cold battery.
To make this possible, we need to install a socket or charging point at home. Having a charging point close at hand offers a number of advantages:
- you can recharge your vehicle whenever you like
- improve your energy impact by reducing your energy consumption. carbon footprint
- you add value to your home
To find out more, discover all the others advantages of installing a charging point at home.
What's more, charging points currently have this feature. programming functionality. You can contact our Beev experts for more information.
In conclusion
As we've just seen, cold weather affects the range of an electric car. To avoid seeing your car lose performance, it is important to maintain it dailyThis is true in all weather conditions, from heatwaves to winter.
What do you do to keep your electric car in good condition over the winter? If you have any other tips, don't hesitate to share them in the comments section.
