Electric vehicles struggling in colder temperatures

(WTVQ) — While an electric car might be stepping into the future and the perks of having it drive itself is enticing, cold weather might be your biggest foe.

To some its a great investment, an electric vehicle and to some, it is a step into the future, and even though they have some of the best perks, one of the big concerns is the effects colder temps have on their batteries.

There are several factors that affect how ev’s function in freezing temperatures, unlike the Toyota or the Hyundai that’s gas powered those vehicles use some of the heat from that engine and keep you and your passenger warm.

Unfortunately that is not the case with an electric vehicle, for an EV in order to keep you warm, that has to come from the battery.

So heating the cabin and also keeping the battery at an optimal temperature will drain it.

“These cold temperatures can decrease that power, that battery by about 30. if you’re charging your vehicle, let that, cabin heat up while you’re charging. So warm up your car while it is plugged in that way, warming up the cabin, the, the, energy for that can come off the grid via the charger rather than off of that battery while you’re driving,” says Lori Weaver Hawkins, Manager, Public & Government Affairs of AAA Bluegrass.

Hawkins says that when we have extreme cold like this, it’s advisable to not let your vehicle go down past 20%.
She says to try to keep it charged above the 20% mark.

Another tip, short trips in the cold with frequent stops and the need to reheat the cabin after a parking pause zaps 50% of the range.