Yeah, I did a graph series on this once upon a time for my 2018 Model 3 LR RWD on Reddit and that’s pretty much what I found. However, this vintage has a resistive PTC heater not a heat pump, which isn’t great for efficiency.
this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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In extreme temps I’d also recommend pre-conditioning your cabin and battery when you are at home and plugged into your charger just before you leave. Most cars with temperature regulated batteries have this option in the app.
https://www.motoringelectric.com/charging/what-is-electric-car-preconditioning/amp/
Strange. I own an EV and haven’t had this problem. I lose about twenty miles from the guess-o-meter when I turn on the AC. That’s hardly 40% of a 240 mile range. Even in the winter running the heat subtracts about the same amount.
40% is the highest observed. This depends heavily on the model, among other circumstances. You probably have a heat pump, which will fare a lot better than one with resistor heating.
Story sounds suspiciously like EV fud. “Oh you might lose 40%. But only if you buy a shitty old car and then don’t follow instructions.”
Using the worst possible scenario in the headline is a joke.
It's certainly a case of oversimplification, but that's always true of headlines. The article broke it down by model. It probably should've included more detail about preconditioning, although it is not always a meaningful option.
It's not about the cars being old, and not really about user error. Some are just more capable of handling cold weather.
Here is an article about the use of heat pumps, and there is a clear trend.
https://insideevs.com/news/747374/ev-range-loss-cold-heat-pump-data/
There's cabin heating, cold vs warm battery, as well as higher rolling resistance from softer winter tires. So if you park outside, don't precondition, and turn on the heat then yeah, 40% less effective range seems about right. Parking inside and/or precondition returns you about 10-20% range.
I lose about 50km give or take when i turn on the heaters. No surprise though it has been -20 to -27 outside.
I prewarm in the garage where it is a balmy -2 and use the seat warmers and heated steering wheel while driving if I need to worry about range.