Thinking about an EV? Part 2 – How Far Does an EV Go?



While many countries are encouraging motorists to embrace electric vehicles (EVs), there is a massive amount of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) regarding the new vehicles. Some of it comes from vested interests, some of it from ignorance, but I’ve had an EV for over 10 years now and I think they’re great. My first two cars were plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) – that’s where there’s a smaller battery backed up by a petrol engine – but my current car of nearly three years is completely battery powered (BEVs).

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the automotive industry and general society is in a period of upheaval. We’ve been used to mass ownership of cars fuelled by petrol for about 70 years and switching to electricity doesn’t happen overnight. However, I’ve seen the change over the past decade and while EVs might not be for everyone, they can be right for many people. This is the second part of a series and you might want to go back and read the first one if you haven’t already.

Many of those commentators critical of EVs have made much of the perceived lack of range or how far the car can go from fully charged, so today’s discussion is on how far the car goes on a single charge, what to do when you need to go away from home and what’s known as “range anxiety”. This is where you start getting anxious as to whether you’ll reach your destination before the battery runs out. I’ve never run out of charge in my 3 years of battery EV ownership and I’ve never even been close to running out. Partly that’s because I don’t do very many long journeys, but it’s mainly about being prepared and planning in advance of your trip. We’ll get into the detail in a minute.

So…how far does an EV go on a fully charged battery?

It depends….

On what?

Just like a petrol car, it depends on whether you are pottering round town or cruising along the motorway; whether you have heavy right foot or a light touch; whether it’s hilly or flat; whether it’s cold and wet, or dry and sunny; 50 kWh battery or 80 kWh battery. Many EVs have official ranges in excess of 300 miles (Tesla Y Long Range, Volvo XC40, Audi Q4 40). My car’s specified range is 285 miles but I wouldn’t bank on getting more than 250.

Most EVs will show the state of the battery’s charge as a percentage and you’ll get to know your vehicle pretty well over time. I use the rule of thumb of 25% battery for every 50 miles. It’s an underestimate but it’s useful to know as you look at the signs at the side of the road. The car will usually also display a range but this is based on recent driving, so if you’ve been driving up a hill for the last few miles, the range will gradually reduce as the car has been getting fewer miles per kWh. On the other hand, driving at 60 on a flat motorway will likely see the range extended as the car uses less electricity to go further.

My petrol car will do over 400 miles on a tank!

Great, but how often do you actually do 400 miles in a day? My daily mileage is about 20 miles and I’ll maybe do 50 miles on a Sunday for a run out. If I need to go to the capital of Ireland, Dublin, it’s 100 miles away. I’m charging at home so if I wanted to, I could start each day with a full charge. Day-to-day, I’m never worrying about fuel.

Fair enough, but what if I have to go further and the battery needs to be recharged?

Broadly there are two categories of chargers that you are looking for when you are away from home. The first are the chargers that you need en route to get to where you are going. These are typically high power chargers and are usually found close to major routes. Ideally you want to spend a short amount of time at these, preferably less than an hour.

The second are destination chargers which are often offered by hotels and other facilities where you might be spending more time. These chargers won’t be as powerful but you’ll leave your car connected to these longer, perhaps overnight. These are great if you’re staying at a hotel and the car can be fully charged for the morning. You’ll usually need your own charging cable for these, so make sure you bring that with you. Phone the hotel in advance and ask – you might even be able to reserve it.

And what if I’m staying in the back end of nowhere?

Then you are going to have to get out your granny charger. This is the name given to a charger that plugs into a domestic 230V 13A socket. It’s slow and it takes a whole 24 hours to charge an 80 kWh battery from flat, but it might be all you have or need. A granny charger is usually supplied with the car (but not always).

That’s all great in theory, but what’s the reality?

 

You plan and prepare. Failing to plan is planning to fail (sorry). Here’s how I do it.

  • Make sure you charge to 100% at home before you leave.
  • Use the on-line maps and EV apps to decide where to stop.
  • Pick charging locations where there are several high power chargers and some facilities. Where there are multiple chargers, there’s less of a chance of getting there only to find they’re all in use. Look for CCS2 chargers in excess of 100kW as they’ll charge the battery quickly. If there are facilities nearby, like restaurants or shops, there’s something to do while the car is charging.
  • Match charging with eating. Some McDonald’s restaurants have chargers, which is great if you have kids needing food.
  • Have a backup charging location in case there’s a problem with your first choice.
  • Sign up in advance if you know the charger operator (BP Pulse, Weev, ESB, Shell, etc) and put in your credit card details on the app. You don’t want to be doing this in the rain, dark or with a poor mobile connection.
  • Don’t leave charging until the battery is really low and don’t bother waiting for the charge to go above 90%. The rate of charging slows down the closer it gets to 100% on the high power chargers. It’s quicker to stop twice to charge from 25% to 75% than it is to stop once and charge from 1% to 100%.
  • Don’t drive fast. The range on my car reduces significantly once you start driving over 70 mph. Tootling along at 65 mph makes very little difference in the time to get somewhere, but a big difference in how far you can go.

Over time, you’ll probably discover where’s best to stop for you. I like charging in a small town called Manorhamilton in Co Leitrim simply because there are some picnic tables on a small hill above the car park where the charger is. A couple of sandwiches from a nearby shop and you can sit up there in the sunshine and watch the world go by. It’s the best on a sunny day.

Right, plan and go. So what about this “range anxiety”?

Ok, so sometimes things don’t go as planned. Maybe you forgot to charge the previous night, maybe your credit card was declined, maybe the charge point wasn’t working, maybe you’re have to go further than planned, but regardless of why, now you’re not sure that there’s enough juice to get you to the next charging station. That’s when “range anxiety” kicks in. You’re worrying about the car stopping before you get to the charger….

There are some things you can do. Switch to “Eco” mode. Drive softly and keep the speed down. Use the apps to find the nearest chargers and see if they’re available before heading out of your way. Turn off the heating/aircon and the heated seats.

It’s definitely becoming less of an issue as more charge points are installed in more convenient locations – for example, my local forecourt is currently putting in six charging bays – so the days of having to worry about charging are becoming fewer.

That concludes the second post in the series and I hope it helps some of the “EV curious” understand EVs a little bit better. If you’ve any further queries, drop them in as questions below.