Climate affect on range

[Glenn Gore]

We drove our Ioniq5 from northwest Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas for the weekend, a distance of 188 miles. We started out with 90% charge, 256 miles, arriving with plenty of range for the weekend. Sunday morning we charged to 80% at Electrify America before coming home since there are no EV charging locations at all along this drive, giving us 226 miles of range in our long-range battery.

When we arrived home, we just had 1% battery and 4 miles range left, so the 188 mile trip used that entire 226-mile range since we were using the AC because the outdoor temps were 95-100º. This weekend’s road trip was very educational because it allowed us to learn what the effects of using AC are on range, and those effects do seem to be quite significant.

I would be interested to read of others’ experiences about the effects of climate control on range.


Sent from my iPad using Inside EVs

 

[Paul K]

My experience with a 2018 Leaf S is that the a/c knocks about 10% off the range but this depends on how hot it actually is outside. There are other factors which can cause differences in the range one way on a longer trip. Driving against the wind as opposed to with it can make a huge difference. Also differences in elevation can factor in as well. I usually find that I have more range going West to East than the other way around. Wind direction in Kingston Ontario tends to have a West vector more often than not. Also heading West the elevation rises.

I know that charging to less than 100% increases battery life but I always charge to 100% before heading out of town. I'm really big on safety margins and some of my runs still don't have any "rescue" chargers en route. Better safe than sorry.