The U.S. State of Maine is on the northeast corner of the country, hard up against New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada. Maine and its capital city Portland have long, cold and very snowy winters. Therefore it’s to be expected that electric car batteries are more sluggish at this time. Although an article in Portland WGME about winter and electric cars still came as a surprise.
Some Portland Electric Cars Battle With Winter
The report in Portland WGME says electric vehicles may be becoming more popular and available, but there’s a catch in winter. That’s because their batteries are not holding up as well in cold weather, and some are struggling to hold their charge.
We wrote a post the other day about the relationship between temperature and electric car batteries, and include a link below. The gist of our report is that ‘this is what batteries do’, and the only surprise is so few electric car owners understand the relationship between winter and electric cars.
The Portland article is concerning, even though it mentions only some owners are thinking of trading in their electric cars for gasoline models. Our concern is this news could slow the shift across to electric vehicles, especially as global warming seems to be causing more extreme winters.
Practical Issues Facing Portland EV Drivers
Portland WGME cites the example of one Portland electric car driver. They say they need ‘a day and four hours’ to fully charge their vehicle. Elsewhere, American Automobile Association reports as follows, and we quote:
- When the temperature drops to 20 degrees and you turn the heat on, the driving range decreases by 41%.
- This means you would only get 59 miles out of what would be 100 when the weather is warmer.
“If I had a heated garage and or a second car, it would make sense,” the driver in question told Portland WGME. “Also, the range on the specific car that I purchased is not great.” She believes the range test was “at 70 degrees to get that optimum maximum range with a full charge.”
Electric vehicle transport may be at the cross roads in chillier parts of North America at this time. Do we keep driving gasoline vehicles, and face the possibility of more severe weather? Or do we accept shorter electric car driving ranges in winter because, overall, that is the sensible thing to do?
More Information
Temperature Batteries And Arrhenius Equation
