How Well Do Electric Vehicles Perform In Our Extreme Weather?

How well do electric vehicles perform in our extreme weather? Surprised to see this in Mpls Sunday edition. BTW, the AAA study referenced used an average winter temp of 20F. It gets a lot colder here. As a matter of fact, it got so cold a few days in late Jan that Xcel's windmills shut down effecting load on gas powered plants that then couldn't handle demand. EV fans too much. Even though facts are stubborn things. Electric vehicles have come along way. Yes, they are quick, powerful and incredibly environmentally friendly. But how practical are they, really, given limits on far how they can go on a single charge, especially in Minnesotas bitter cold winters? Star Tribune reader Michael Orange, an environmental consultant, posed that question to Curious Minnesota, our community-driven reporting project fueled by great questions from inquisitive readers. His question was selected by readers who voted for it to be answered by us. The short answer is that cold temperatures do degrade electric vehicles performance.

Electric vehicles perform at their peak in temperatures between 50 and 80 degrees, when the lithium-ion batterys power can focus on propelling the vehicle down the road and not be diverted using energy to heat or cool the cabin. In winter, cold engine oil and idling can drag down fuel economy of even gas-powered vehicles by as much as 20% on short trips, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But engines also produce extra heat that can be used to heat a cab without diminishing gas mileage. In electric vehicles, there is no extra engine heat, so the battery must heat the cabin, further diminishing the distance motorists can drive. A recent study by AAA found that electric vehicle owners can expect their driving range to decline by 41% when the mercury dips to 20 degrees. That means for every 100 miles of driving in optimal conditions, the range would drop to 59 miles. The study also showed some decrease in range when temperatures reach 95 degrees or higher, but the drop is not as severe as in the cold.

Northrop, who drives an electric Volkswagen Golf, said those numbers were kind to Minnesota. He said his range drops by nearly 60% on the coldest of days. “You just have to think about where you are going to charge,” he said. Some 1.2 million plug-in electric vehicles, including those from Nissan, Tesla and Chevrolet, have been sold in the United States, with sales particularly strong in areas such as Los Angeles, San Diego or San Francisco. But for electric vehicles to be broadly adopted, they must be able to have a consistent range and a charging capability in a variety of conditions, said Anna Stefanopoulou, director of the University of Michigans Energy Institute. Low mileage range has been one of the biggest knocks against electric vehicles, although newer models now can get more than 300 miles on a fully-charged battery. For most drivers, that is plenty. The average driver puts on only 29 miles a day, according to the National Household Travel Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thats well within the capabilities of current batteries.

And technological advances will make it easier to keep a battery from going dead, Northrop said. Vehicles like Teslas, and the new Jaguar I-Pace electric, now let owners charge their vehicles from a far with an app. The number of places to charge is growing, too. Many employers offer charging stations and some parking ramps in Minneapolis have places to plug in. In the future, Northrop said drivers might even be able to park on a pad or drive over a sensor to get the juice they need. John Smart, with the Idaho National Laboratory, a battery testing center, said manufacturers are addressing the range problem by developing solid state batteries without liquid inside that can hold and store energy, and are less sensitive to cold and heat. Some new generation models are coming with electric heated seats and packs to keep batteries warm for optimal performance. Northrop said developers also are looking for ways to speed up the charging process, another hurdle for more widespread acceptance. “Advances are coming so fast. You will see a lot of advances in the coming years,” he said.

I decided to go for the GTE blue tartan design. Found a seller in Europe selling parts from scrapped test vehicles. They are not in used scrapped car business but deals in exporting/scrapping of test vehicles from Volkswagen. Ordered from their web site in good faith and crossed fingers. After about two weeks, the seats arrived. Collected them from the forwarder in Changi Air Cargo Terminal. How to fit this into my little Golf ? I went with my car stripped of the rear seats and passenger seat as it is impossible to fit all the GTE seats into my little Golf 7.3 . I stripped the pallet at the terminal and fitted the other seats and carried the driver's seat back. Packaging was professionally done by the supplier ! They even shipped the LHD central console which I have to throw away as it would not fit . Only retrieve the arm rest and some parts. As it is German law that all safety equipment cannot be sold as used, the seats came without seat belts or airbags.