AAA report: Freezing temps slash electric vehicle range almost in half

By Bruce Brown Published February 15, 2019

Extremely cold temperatures can decrease electric vehicle operating range by 41 percent, according to a new report by the American Automobile Association. The excess battery drain results primarily from using the vehicle’s HVAC to warm the vehicle interior.

High temperatures that require greater effort by an EV’s air conditioning system also shorten driving range, but keeping passengers warm when it’s below freezing has the greater effect.

Recommended Videos

AAA compared average operating range and fuel economy among five electric vehicles at 20 degrees and 95 degrees Fahrenheit to their performance at 75 degrees, a moderate temperature at which the vehicles had the highest range and fuel economy.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Even when the EVs were run without using their HVAC systems, operating range and fuel economy dropped, but not as drastically as when the heating or cooling systems were employed.

At 20 degrees Fahrenheit, the average driving range decreased 12 percent and fuel economy dropped nine percent; both compared to 75-degree temperature operation. With the HVAC systems in use, however, the tested EVs’ average driving range decreased 41 percent and fuel economy fell 39 percent at 20-degree temps.

At an above normal 95 degrees, running with no air conditioning cut the range by four percent and fuel economy by five percent. When the AC was turned on in 95-degree testing the range decreased by 17 percent and fuel economy slipped 18 percent.

AAA recommendations

AAA has four recommendations to help owners prepare for EV’s reduced driving range and lower fuel economy before driving when the weather is colder or hotter than usual:

- Account for the lower driving range and plan for more charging stops than usual. Check the locations of charging station along your route before beginning your trip.
- Reduce the EV’s effort to bring the cabin to a comfortable temperature range by pre-heating or pre-cooling while connected to a charger.
- Park the EV in a garage.
- Get used to planning if you own an EV in areas in the U.S. with frequent extreme temperatures, especially in states with long, cold winters.

AAA tested five electric vehicles in conjunction with the Automotive Club of Southern California’s Automotive Research Center (ARC) in Los Angeles. AAA selected one vehicle per manufacturer, with the requirement that the EVs were sold in the U.S. and had a minimum 100-mile EPA estimated driving range. The test vehicles included a 2018 BMW i3s, 2018 Chevrolet Bolt, 2018 Nissan Leaf, 2017 Tesla Model S 75D, and a 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf.

Topics

Contributing Editor

Bruce Brown Contributing Editor As a Contributing Editor to the Auto teams at Digital Trends and TheManual.com, Bruce…

Cars

VinFast’s new electric cars will be available in the U.S. this year

VinFast VF6

As we move toward electric vehicles, all kinds of new car brands have been popping up -- giving the traditional automakers a run for their money. Over the past few years at CES, one of the more interesting of those has been VinFast -- a Vietnamese company that delivered its first cars in the U.S. in November. Now, the company is planning on more releases over the next year -- and at CES 2023, we learned more about what those cars will offer.

VinFast may not be very well known in the U.S., but it's actually one of the larger automakers in Vietnam. It certainly doesn't have the experience in manufacturing on the scale that it's hoping to in the U.S., but unlike many of the other electric carmakers, it is actually shipping cars -- not just building concepts. The VinFast VF8 crossover and VF9 SUV were announced earlier -- but little was known about the smaller VF6 and VF7 models, until now. Turns out, like their larger siblings, they're pretty compelling options.
VinFast VF6

Cars

Check out Spectre, Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric car

Rolls-Royce's Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.

Rolls-Royce Introduces Spectre: The World's First Ultra-Luxury Electric Super Coupé

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has taken the wraps off the Spectre, its first all-electric vehicle.

Cars

How do electric cars work? EV motors and batteries explained

Electric GT e-Crate Motor Tesla battery

Electric vehicles function in fundamentally different ways than traditional cars. Internal combustion engines have loads of moving parts, and while EVs have their own complexities, they're much more digital than mechanical. Let's take a closer look at exactly how electric vehicles work.
How does an EV battery pack work?
Instead of gasoline, EVs derive their power from a battery pack, which usually stretches along the underside of the car to keep the weight as low as possible. It's composed of multiple modules, which are in turn broken down into individual battery cells, similar in size to AA batteries. A layer of coolant runs between cells since hot batteries are explodey batteries. A battery management system regulates that coolant and ensures that each cell drains at the same rate, which prolongs the life of the pack.