As EVs grow in popularity and the 2030 petrol and diesel ban creeps ever closer, there are still factors hindering people’s confidence in them, one of them being range anxiety.
However, concerns are becoming unfounded with battery technology advancements and an increase in the number of charge points across the UK, which is now home to 41,900 charge point connections across 15,500 locations.
Vanarama has conducted a study to find out which in-car features drain an EV battery the most so you can get the most miles from your EV. To help, it also provided top tips for conserving EV range.
Vanarama tested the battery drainage of 3 EV models (Hyundai Kona, VW ID.3, and Tesla Model 3) to determine how much the average EV battery drains when using different in-car features.
Testing for each feature was carried out individually at 70mph on a maximum setting, on board a fully charged vehicle to see how much faster the EV battery drained when the feature was switched on. Therefore, these results show the maximum amount the average EVs battery could be drained by in-car features.
Key findings:
- Heating drains an EV battery faster than any other in-car feature increasing battery drain speed by 17%
- Windscreen wipers and heated seats drain an EV battery 15% faster each
- Satellite navigation drains the average EVs battery the slowest at only 5% faster
- Driving at 70mph drains the average EV battery 68% faster than 30mph
5 Tips To Conserve EV Range
While the features we take for granted do impact on an EV’s battery showed by our findings – there’s nothing so dramatic that it should put anyone off taking their first steps into electric motoring.
- Drive slower – speed will affect EV range more than any car feature.
- Use heated seats instead of the cabin heater – EVs don’t get free waste heat from the engine so running heated seats should use less energy than the cabin heater.
- Utilise regenerative braking rather than friction braking – This uses the electric motor as a generator to send energy to the battery every time you lift off the accelerator or touch the brakes.
- Pre-plan your route – Driving at high speed for a long amount of time will drain your battery quicker. Instead, look for the most economical route on your satnav.
- Pre-condition the cabin temperature – When your EV is charging it is a good time to pre-condition the temperature of the cabin, so that all it has to do when you’re driving is maintain a set temperature.
