E-car running out of poohs in traffic jams?

Electric cars are different in winter – for better or worse: The electric car is preheated and defrosted as you scrape ice from the combustion engine. Even with a cold start, the electric car warms up immediately, the internal combustion engine must be warmed up first. But internal combustion engines go this far because they burn as much fuel as heat. E-cars are more efficient, but they need to be heated electrically. Depending on the situation, the weather and the type of car, this usually costs 10 to 30 percent of the range.

This is how the Internet myth about winter traffic jams, where you’ll freeze to death as the heat drains your battery quickly, comes to life. This is just nonsense. An electric car “pulls” from 0.5 to 3.0 kW at standstill, while idling, combustion engines need from 0.5 to 1.5 liters per hour (including all consumers). Roughly speaking, an e-car with a half-charged 60 kWh battery will warm up for 10 to 60 hours, and an internal combustion engine with a half-filled 60-liter tank will heat up for 20 to 60 hours. Much simplified, because: If the e-car is hot, the consumption drops sharply.

How to heat an electric car more efficiently?

Therefore, it is unlikely that it will freeze to death or stop due to traffic jams in the winter. But: No matter how good the new e-cars are, their range is also reduced in winter. Three examples: In the Blick winter test, the VW E-Up 2013 drove only 86 kilometers instead of the official 160 kilometers. 328 instead of 414 in 2020 in the Mercedes EQC, instead of 507 kilometers in the latest Tesla Model Y 442.

If you want to optimize the winter range, you can do so already at the time of purchase: Modern electric cars often have more efficient heat exchangers. Unfortunately, they are not always (but increasingly) non-standard. Before you start your journey:

• Preheat via app (switch or onboard system on older models): This is more efficient than warming up when you start your journey. If the car is plugged in, it doesn’t cost any range. If unplugged it still makes sense to preheat as the battery is usually tempered.
• Charge the battery only when you start driving. It sounds mundane, but: If you charge it the night before and then unplug it, the battery cools down and needs re-energy.
• For the same reason, it is better to park in the garage in cold weather than in the parking lot outside.
• With frequent reheating, it is better to take several long trips rather than many short trips.
• Do not charge shortly after starting your journey, because the colder the battery, the slower it will charge.
• Some modern e-cars (eg Porsche Taycan) precondition the battery to the perfect charging temperature while using the onboard navigation system for the fast charging approach. Then use Navi.

Seat heating saves electricity on the go

Almost all electric cars have heated seats. Although it needs a lot of energy, it can still help increase the range on the Stromer. How to save while driving:

• Use seat and/or steering wheel heating and a slightly lower temperature: This warms the body more energy-efficiently with a higher level of ventilation than a higher heating temperature.
• Turn off windshield heaters: Rear window and windshield heaters, if equipped, require a lot of electricity. Therefore, turn it off when not needed.
• The air circulation feature of the air conditioner helps the circulated air to warm up faster. Caution: If the windows fog up from the inside, deactivate the air recirculation circuit again.
• “Driver only” button (eg Hyundai): Heat the driver’s area only when you are alone.

Do not save on light, visibility and temperature

But range should never come at the expense of safety. Then:

• If you’re driving with misted windows, shaking, or wearing a thick jacket, you’re saving in the wrong place.
• Also, never limit the light. For example, deliberately driving with daytime running lights instead of dipped headlights at dusk has little saving effect and high loss of safety. The only exception: if the traffic stays in traffic jams for a long time, switch from dipped beam to parking lamps.