Anything that’s a chemical substance slows down when it is cold, says Tom Krisher from The Associated Press writing in Fortune. It’s another factor we get from nature, and we have to put up with it. This phenomenon slows electric vehicle charging, and reduces driving range. Preconditioning electric car batteries in winter does make a difference for drivers who know.
Why Electric Vehicle Batteries Slow in Winter
All batteries work by exchanging microscopic charge-carrying ions between their terminals. These particles move from the positive to the negative terminal when a battery charges. And them return the other way as the battery discharges.
Electric vehicle batteries conform to this standard. They hold more driving-range-charge in summer, but take longer to recharge when it is winter. In fact, their charge-carrying ions can become so sluggish in icy conditions, that a vehicle can lose as much as a third of its driving range.
These hard facts of nature that we have to accept, mean that a chilly electric vehicle battery can take longer to warm up before it can begin to accept a recharge. Moreover, this drawback is even more severe at a fast-charging station, especially if the vehicle spent the winter night parked outside.
How to Precondition Cold Electric Car Batteries
Most electric cars have a preconditioning app that pre-cools the car’s cabin before a trip. It can also warm the interior, including the battery. This feature is great for driver and passenger comfort. But it can also extend the driving range, and prolong the the battery life according to Motoring Electric.
The driver activates the app via the infotainment system, or uses their smartphone after they download the software. As an especially nice touch this does not use battery power, for as long as the car is plugged in to the mains supply at the time.
Preconditioning electric car batteries this way means not having to run the air conditioner on high when driving off on battery power. It also helps preserve the battery cells by warming them in winter. We wrote this post because we understand some electric vehicle drivers don’t know about preconditioning.
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Electric Car Batteries in Winter Time
