Despite the continuously growing popularity of EVs and the 2030 petrol and diesel ban edging closer and closer, there are still some aspects of electric cars that people are not completely certain about. Surely you're familiar with the term called 'range anxiety' mentioned a lot when people talk about EVs. Simply put, it's worrying that your electric car battery will run out of charge before you reach your destination, leaving you stuck between charging stations. But is "range anxiety" still a real thing in 2021? With improvements in battery technology and dramatically increasing numbers of charging stations throughout the UK - Zap Map reports there were over 41,900 charge point connectors across more than 15,500 sites as of June 2021 - these risks start to fade away.
The impact of everyday features on EV batteries
A study tested three popular electric cars - Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Kona, and VW ID.3 - using the same driving speed and style to create "the average electric car" so a balanced view of how different factors affect EV batteries could be obtained. The EV battery was tested on a full charge and at 70mph on maximum to see if the EV battery drains faster when turned on for each of its features.
Which in-car features use the most of your battery?
Note: Results may vary depending on your vehicle, the weather, terrain, and other factors impacting your daily commute.
No 1: Heating
There's no big surprise here, to be honest. Having the heat on full blast in your electric car will consume 17% more battery charge than driving without it.
Fortunately, many electric cars have the advantage of allowing the interior to be heated while the car is still plugged in using a feature called pre-heating. This means you can warm up the interior before you depart so that you can reduce your use of heat during the journey, or at least partially.
No 2 & 3: Heated seats & windscreen wipers
Each of these features uses 15% more of the battery in your EV in comparison to when disabled. Who would have thought that the wipers would drain the battery as much as the heated seats?
No 4: Demister
The demister isn't much kinder on the EV battery than the seat heating or wipers. Expect a 12% increase in your battery usage when you turn the demister on.
No 5: Air Conditioning
Enabling your electric car's air-con will result in an 11% faster battery drain.
A leading air conditioner manufacturer in Japan claims it has developed a new refrigerant that can actually extend an electric vehicle's range by 50% - we will report on that as soon as we have more information.
In our next blog, we will be talking about ways to improve your electric car's range so keep checking CVC's blog regularly and while you're here, why not check our latest EV deals.
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