Warmer temps' effect on range

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gatedad11

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
95
Location
Bucks County, PA
Got my "I" in late January '13. My roundtrip of 35 miles was using up about 8 bars total. That was with me using little to no heat...not a big deal, just wore a heavy coat and gloves. In Philly area, we had a relatively prolonged winter, not particulalry cold, but went on longer than we are used to seeing. The last few days have been about 20 degrees above normal(hitting mid 80's Farenheit today). On the first leg of my commute, I don't think I have used more than 2 bars, which is astonishing to me. Wow, what a difference! I had noticed that on warmer days I was getting better range, but nothing like this. Makes me envious of those who live in temperate year round climates, their range must be actually quite good. Driving the way that I do(not using A/C either), I can see getting 90 miles on a good day with the battery...
 
Like you, we'd been seeing 60-65 miles RR for the past few months (before we'd switch on the heat) here in Central PA (Lancaster). Yesterday my wife saw 77 RR without trying too much. My other EV has lithium and a BMS that gives details on what the cells are doing, and all winter I was having a hard time with a few cells sagging under load, and using between 250-260 wh/mile. With the warmer temps the cells don't sag as much (which means they give more power for the same current draw) and I'm using only 220-230 wh/mile. It makes a lot of difference.
 
Got mine in Feb in North Jersey and the long winter has been rough. Mostly had been getting around 2-2.5mi/kWh, but now am much closer to 4mi/kWh. Could probably squeeze 5mi/kWh on a fine day like today!
 
Yesterday was a beautiful day in Dallas (yes, I'm rubbing it in). I was within one block of my work before I lost the first "bar". 9 miles on one bar. Usually, it drops one bar 2-3 miles before this, so the warmer weather definitely helped range.

Today, however, in typical Texas fashion, we have colder temps and rain, so I used the heater (pre-heating too) and the defroster. I dropped 3 bars going to work. That's okay. I got my new L2 charger in last night so I'm gonna wire it up tonight and see how much faster it charges. :mrgreen:
 
All of this is very fascinating. I had not anticipated such variance in mileage possible due to heat/cold issues. Now I can see why many people in California and Washington, who are not subject to extremes, are getting 100+ miles on their Leafs. I wonder how much effect the weather will have on the long term status of the I-MiEV's batteries? Supposedly, cold weather is good for them...

Lou
 
I *think* temperature extremes are not so good for the battery . . . . either too hot or too cold. Something in the 40 to 80 degree range is probably ideal

After a year, our typical RR's are usually in the 70 to 80 mile range, depending on how we drive - Where we live, the first and last 3 or 4 miles is usually done at 45 or 50 mph, otherwise I think the RR's would be even better. I *think* if you had a daily commute where the speeds never exceeded 35 mph, and you drove very carefully, the car would probably do 100 miles easy enough without seeing the turtle

My experience is that warmer temps affect the range much less than colder temps, especially if you're using the heat at all. Use of the A/C affects range much less than the heater does. We bought our car last May, so for the first 6 or 7 months, we were using the A/C every single day and still getting actual range in the mid '70's or better, but this past winter it was more like mid '50's if we needed the heat or the defroster. We took to wearing a coat and only using heat to keep the windshield clear, even though we still have adequate range for our needs when using the heater. We don't recharge every day and sometimes only every 3rd day

Anyway, the car will really impress you even more come summer, especially if you're needing the A/C - It was a pleasant surprise for us

Don
 
I'm curious to see if my RR comes back up with the warmer weather. Before the winter, I was getting RR in the mid 90s most of the time. Over the winter, 73-75 was the norm, with using heat about 10 percent of the time.
 
This morning(and again we are having warmer than normal temps here in Philadelphia area), I showed 2 bars used in my 17.5 mile commute. In the past, it was more along the lines of 4 bars. I will probably lose another bar just by turning the car on in the parking lot, but it is fun and encouraging to see the range increase like this. The RR showed 85 miles, 2nd day in a row it has. I don't pay too much attention to that, because I realize how fickle it can be...but the remaining bars are accurately reflecting potential and actual use.

Lou
 
I *think* temperature extremes are not so good for the battery . . . . either too hot or too cold. Something in the 40 to 80 degree range is probably ideal

Too cold doesn't harm the battery, they will recover. It's too hot that is the problem. Here's an interesting article stating that anything about 86F will begin to degrade the battery. http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/electric-car-batteries-last-5-20-years

This is bad news for those vertically stacked Leaf batteries.
 
Only 86 degrees F? That's not very high. It stays around 100 degrees F here in Dallas for about a month at a time. I wonder what level of degradation happens? :?
 
I'm noticing the same thing. Usually, I use 2-3 bars one way to work (~40 Deg. F) with preheating. Yesterday was 70 Deg. F on the way in, and I made it 7.5 miles before losing the first bar, and the car was still pulling power when I unplugged it, though I had 16 bars. I made it 72 miles yesterday with 3 miles remaining. I lost the last bar as I backed up to the garage to plug in. In 40 degree F air, I made 66 miles, with no miles remaining, with an hour on level 1 halfway through.

Warmer weather definitely helps. The car also rolls much easier in warmer weather, so drag does go down with temperature.
 
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