Still, it’s advantageous to understand how heat and cold impact EVs.
Turning on the air conditioning in hot weather, however, can also reduce overall range.
That means EV batteries work in slightly mysterious ways to most of us.
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The ability to hold those charges is referred to as capacity or storage capacity.
When those charges are used by the car, they are discharged by feeding power to the EVs motor.
When a battery is exposed to extremely cold temperatures, its capacity to store a charge can be diminished.
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EVs use lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries.
These are rechargeable, lightweight, and have a higher energy density than other types of rechargeable batteries.
As a result, these batteries are smaller than those in gasoline-powered vehicles.
That degradation can cause an EV battery to perform less effectively.
How Temperature Specifically Affects EV Range
Temperature issues dont just affect the battery itself.
It can also impact an EVs overall range.
That reduction is usually due to the power requirements of running an electric heater in extremely cold conditions.
Resistive heaters convert electrical energy into heat because they get hot when electricity flows through them.
Heat pumps, on the other hand, essentially just move thermal energy from one place to another.
In even colder temperatures, it becomes more efficient to switch over to a resistive heater.
