Why Dont Electric Cars Go As Far As It Is Claimed They Will
The answer lies in the official test. Currently, the range figures the manufacturers are allowed to publish are dictated by the WLTP, or World-harmonised Light vehicle Test Procedure. This is the same test used to calculate fuel economy for petrol and diesel cars and, as is widely understood, it doesnt fully replicate the sort of conditions youll encounter in the real world.
To put it another way, the discrepancy between the real-world range of your electric car and its official range figure occurs for the same reason theres a difference between the fuel consumption youll achieve in your petrol or diesel car and its official fuel economy figure: while the latest WLTP test is more realistic than the old NEDC economy test, it still doesnt quite reflect real-world conditions accurately .
With an electric car, that discrepancy is often more noticeable because a drop in range can make the difference between having to stop for a lengthy charge during your journey, or not.
But this isnt the only reason. The other issue is that electric cars batteries perform better in warmer temperatures, and worse when its colder. So modern EVs have sophisticated battery heating and cooling systems to keep the battery operating at its optimum temperature. These systems drain energy themselves, though, so their usage still results in a drop in range.
Can I Install An Ev Charger At Home
When browsing EVs, you might be wondering whether its possible to charge your car at home for convenience. Charging your car at home might take more hours than in public places, but it will give your vehicle enough charge to do your daily errands. Most people charge their cars overnight so they can be fully charged the next day when using them.
You can charge your EV at home, anyones home to be exact. Every EV car has a system that allows you to charge your vehicle at any regular outlet, including your home. The only downside to this is that most home electric systems can only produce 120 volts. This means that it will definitely take a lot of time to charge your car fully.
When you purchase your EV, you are likely to get a level 1 charger with it. The design of this charger is for a regular outlet that emits 120 outlets. To charge your car at home with the level 1 outlet doesnt require you to change your electrical system. Your role is to plug it in.
A level 1 charger provides four to five hours of range per hour charged. So if you dont travel that many miles per day, this amount of power could be enough for you.
If you must travel long distances daily, you might need a level 2 charging outlet that emits more kilowatts and charges it faster. Charging at home with a higher level voltage outlet adds more miles to your EV while reducing the charging time.
Do Electric Cars Lose Range Over Time
Yes, but not as much as you may think or as fast as you may fear. Under current estimates, most EV batteries will last between one and two decades before they need to be replaced. And contrary to popular belief, EV batteries dont simply stop working. Instead, they slowly degrade over timemeaning that it’s unlikely that you’re going to need a replacement abruptly.
A battery gradually loses capacity with many reporting the loss of only a few percent over several years. When looking at the average decline across all vehicles, that loss averages out at 2.3 percent per year. To demonstrate, if you purchase an EV today with a 240 km range, after five years the battery will have lost 27 km of accessible range.
To put consumers’ reservations to rest, many manufacturers give a warranty on their battery which is usually between five and ten years or 100,000 km . Want to know how to increase the lifespan of your EVs battery? Check out this blog we wrote on EV battery longevity.
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Hyundai Kona Electric 415 Kilometres
Nobody really saw this one coming, but the little electrified Hyundai SUV is quite the practical EV. Not only can it travel quite far between recharging sessions, the battery will replenish rapidly if you can access the right kind of charger. You get all that for a seriously low price, which is why the Kona Electric has been racking up big sales numbers.
The 5 Electric Cars That Go The Farthest On A Single Charge
Different vehicles vary when it comes to how long they can maintain their charge and mileage. The car model and company make those two aspects vary profusely. The newer models of EV cars come out, each one of them covering more miles on a single charge than the previous one. So every time you need an EV covering more miles, check out the latest model and compare it with the earlier model.
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How To Find A Charging Station Away From Home
Finding a charging station while traveling was a barrier to EV ownership in the past, but now plenty of smartphone apps easily locate any of the over 36,000 public charging stations. Most EVs with built-in navigation also offer charging station information, and user groups like Google Maps can also help find chargers.
There are almost twenty different charging networks including ChargePoint, Electrify America, Blink,Tesla, and EVgo. Each has its own app to find chargers and facilitate payment. The U.S. Department of Energy, various manufacturers, and sites such as PlugShare aggregate this information for ease in finding and paying for charging on the road. For example, the FordPass app standard on the upcoming Ford Mustang Mach-E is an aggregating app providing access to a wide range of charging stations.
When shopping for an EV, understanding when and where you can recharge is key to a successful ownership experience. Research home and work charging and your proximity to Level 3 fast chargers for the full scope of charging options.
The Ultimate Guide To Road Tripping With An Electric Car
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The past couple of years have changed the travel world in many ways, but two things stand out to me: road trips and electric cars.
Early in the pandemic, we saw road trips take the spotlight during a coronavirus-fueled dip in air travel. Even after vaccines helped air travel rebound, many travelers still prefer to take the great American road trip when visiting national parks, cities and everywhere in between.
At the same time, more and more drivers are switching to electric cars, with adoption steadily rising both in the U.S. and abroad. This has become more prevalent as gas prices continue to rise due to world conflict and supply chain issues, and even rental car companies have begun to add EVs to their fleets.
Related: 5 lessons learned from taking a road trip in the age of coronavirus
Since buying the i3, Ive taken it on a couple of short trips. Its a different experience than road tripping with a gas car, and newcomers to the electric car world might be deterred if they dont know what to expect.
Lets dive in!
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Should You Drive An Electric Car To Empty
You should definitely avoid completely draining an EVs battery. Doing so will have a negative effect on the batterys capacity and shorten its life. The optimal charge range for an electric cars battery is usually between 20-80%, so do your best to keep it there.
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Thankfully many modern electric vehicles are built with alerts that tell you when your battery is running low. Some of the more high-end ones will even alert you when youre near a charging station so you can juice up right then. Youll often be able to see how many miles you have left to drive before the battery is empty so you can recharge well before youre stranded.
Unlike a gas vehicle, where you can sometimes finesse a few more miles from the tank when the gas light comes on, an EV is done when it hits zero. When that happens, youre getting towed to a charging station, so avoid letting the battery run to depletion. Topping up throughout the day, or at home overnight, goes a long way toward eliminating that problem.
Cost Of Installing A Home Ev Charger
When you buy an electric car, you qualify for the OZEV government grant. When you want to install the grants could help make it cheaper. You can check if thats possible to access in your area as it will save you a lot of money.
There are many thoughts to keep in mind regarding the price of installing an EV charger at home, including the type of charging system, whether level 1 or 2.
The price will depend on your location, whether its portable or hardwired. Averagely, it could cost you between $1000 and $2500 to install a charging port at home. Most people installing a 240-volt outlet pay an average of $1200.
If you need a level 2 outlet for two cars, it could be on the higher side, costing you around $4500 and providing 240 volts. Generally, the installation price could vary from as low as $300 to as much as $4500.
Final Words
With improvement in technology, EVs are the next big thing. There arent as many public EV charging areas yet, but as more EVs get produced, these charging areas keep increasing.
But either way, you can charge your EV at home or in those public areas. Having a designated charging area at home in your garage can help you save on money used in charging your EV in public.
Each model of car that comes out has a higher mile range than the previous car and a bigger battery capacity. This battery capacity allows the vehicle to go for more miles and be durable.
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What Offers More Distance For Your Buck Evs Vs Ice Vehicles
While the percentage of market share held by EVs continues to grow, ICE vehicles remain the dominant form of transportation following more than a century of smoggy tradition.
Our goal at Electrek is not only to share the latest EV news with you, but to ensure you understand any and all of the potential benefits associated with a switch to a zero emission vehicle.
In this edition, we will offer a new lens in the United States, showcasing how far you can travel in a given state on $100 in an EV vs. how far $100 will get you in a traditional ICE vehicle.
Using a library of government data, we have been able to calculate and compile the average costs for gasoline, electricity, and travel in each state based on a number of factors. Heres how we worked it out.
Ready To Buy An Ev Use Our Car Loan Calculator To See What Youll Pay
Electric cars are better than ever. Theyre more affordable. They travel farther on a single charge. Its easier to install a home charging station or find a Level 2 or Level 3 charging station while away from home. And while theyre still not as easy to fuel as a gasoline vehicle, recharging times continue to come down as charger technology improves.
If you think the time is right to get into an EV, be sure to use our car loan calculator to find out what you might pay to go electric. And dont forget to factor in national, state, and local tax benefits and cash incentives.
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Look To The Ev Community For Support
When it comes to recharging, Wade isn’t only looking for electricity he’s sometimes searching for personal connection. Through Plugshare, Wade finds charging locations at non-obvious locations like hospitals, libraries and even the homes of fellow app users. “It’s a very supportive network,” he says. “Most of us are concerned about the environment and climate change, and that pulls people together.”
Wade also belongs to the Facebook group Tesla Road Trippers, which offers travel advice to newbies and encourages EV owners to share up-to-date information on their latest vacations. Users who post itineraries often receive valuable feedback from seasoned members.
Tips To Prepare For A Road Trip In Your Electric Car
With EV stations becoming more plentiful across the US, your energy efficient vehicle doesnt have to stop you from taking a road trip. If you follow the tips outlined above, you should be in a great position to plan an amazing vacation.
Thinking about making your property a charging hub for tenants and guests? Learn more about SemaConnect EV charging stations.
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Driving An Electric Car In The Us And Managing Range Anxiety
For EV users who stay close to home or live in parts of the country with sufficient charging stations, range anxiety poses little threat. “The vast majority of electric vehicles are on the West Coast: LA, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle,” says Greg Brannon, AAA’s Director of Automotive Engineering, “and the charging infrastructure is heavily focused there.” This makes West Coast-area road trips to parks like Yosemite, Joshua Tree and Mt. Hood National Forest all EV-viable excursions.
But not all excursions are so easy. In 2019, Wade Anderson took a 19,000-mile road trip around North America in a Tesla Model 3 and experienced this fear firsthand. While driving through the Yukon Territory and Alaska, he barely reached a maintenance camp. “My battery had 0% charge as I rolled in there,” he recalls. “I used RV parks to plug in, which are very slow-charging, and a typical one-day journey ended up taking three days.”
The north midwest proved similarly treacherous for EV travel, and Wade once found himself stuck at a desolate campground in rural Montana while waiting for his car to recharge.
But range anxiety isn’t something he often experiences while traveling, and soon, “these minor inconveniences will be a thing of the past,” he muses.
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What Is Meant By Range Anxiety
Range anxiety is the fear that a fully electric vehicle will run out of battery before reaching its destination. Range anxiety has been a major impediment to large-scale EV adoption, which is understandable given that no one wants to be stranded.Running out of battery may have been more of a concern in the early days of electric vehicles. However, we dont think its an issue anymore, if it ever was, with new electric cars and vans capable of 140-350 miles per charge.Range anxiety for electric vehicles is essentially non-existent in practise, according to a 2012 study by experts at London Metropolitan University titled Rewriting the Psychology of Electric Cars.That being said, its natural to be nervous when you buy your first electric car nevertheless, weve found that any doubts you may have will have evaporated totally within 10 days of driving electric. All you have to do now is locate the ideal electric vehicle to meet your personal driving requirements.
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How Far Can We Go
George Crabtree runs what might be called the Manhattan Project for advanced electric-car batteries. Which isn’t hard to imagine, since his Joint Center for Energy Storage Research is based at the U.S. Department of Energy’s sprawling Argonne National Laboratory campus, outside Chicago, one of the sites where research on nuclear reactors continued after World War II. Crabtree’s $120 million mission seems almost as ambitious. He oversees the efforts of 14 research universities, national laboratories, and battery manufacturers dedicated to a very catchy goal dubbed 5-5-5: develop batteries that offer five times the performance of today’s batteries at a fifth of today’s cost within five years. The results could revolutionize electric cars as well as renewable energy .
The 5-5-5 mission is a copywriter’s dream and a researcher’s nightmare. Crabtree’s team is being forced to look well beyond the familiar lithium-ion battery technology found in today’s electric cars and consumer electronics. That technology, commercially available since 1991, is nearing the end of its usefulness, with “one more round of innovation” remaining, according to Bill Wallace, director of GM’s global battery systems engineering team.
Here’s what the car industry is doing to drive down the cost and increase the range of electric cars:
Reed McManus
How Far Can An Electric Car Go On One Charge
John Bogna
John is a freelance writer and photographer based in Houston, Texas. His ten-year background spans topics from tech to culture and includes work for the Seattle Times, the Houston Press, Medium’s OneZero, WebMD, and MailChimp. Before moving to The Bayou City, John earned a B.A. in Journalism from CSU Long Beach. Read more…
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