EV Winter Driving Techniques

Over the winter I've seen a number of online posts about EVers having some challenges with the range of their EVs, or lack of range on these cold days.  There is no getting around it, EVs in winter have shorter range, up to 40% on really cold days especially when running the heater.  All is not lost though, there are ways to hold onto some of that range Old Man Winter attempts to take away.  The techniques below are ones I use and they have helped me maintain an 80 to 90 mile range in 40 degree weather and in the 70 to 80 range when below 30, I've only had a couple of seriously short days in the 60s when it was so bitter cold I had to turn up the heats.  Keep in mind I'm used to over 100 miles range and my commute was 76 miles round trip, 85% highway, with no charging at work so maintaining what range I could was key.

Some of my techniques may seem extreme but when you have got to get back home without stopping to charge up every little bit of energy saved gets you closer to that goal.  Not all EVs have the same options as the BMW ActiveE, the EV I drive, but the concept is the same so read on.

PRECONDITION

This would have to be the most recommended thing you could do.  If your EV offers this option, and most do, USE IT!!  Why?  Simple, it warms up the battery, a cold battery is inefficient.  Some EVs warm up the interior, the ActiveE does and this means I can drive 10 to 30 or more mile (depending on outside temps) without turning on the heat before it gets uncomfortable.  This absolutely extends winter range.

CYCLE DEFROST ON AND OFF

Windows can get foggy in cold weather and you will need the defroster, front and rear.  For the windshield I just turn on the climate control and it defrosts pretty fast in the ActiveE, I don't need to hit the actual 'defrost' button which I feel uses way more energy.  The rear defroster I turn on and as soon as the rear window clears I shut it off.

USE ECO-PRO or the ECO mode your EV has

The ECO modes in EVs can make your ride feel slow but they are there for a reason, they make your EV use less energy.  If you want to maintain range turn this feature on.  The ActiveE reduces the power of the heater and the heated seats basically do not work so you will feel a little colder but go further.  If you have to use the heat keep the climate control at 70 or less (if you have a digital readout)...The ActiveE will default to 72 after pre-conditioning but I find 70, as long as you are bundled up, is comfortable even in eco-pro mode.

I sometimes toggle the ECO setting on then off just to boost the heater for a minute to warm up a tad.

The ECO PRO button on the ActiveE - ECO me

STAY UNDER 65MPH

Seriously....EVs use more energy at highway speeds and in the freezing cold the batteries are less efficient and must work harder to maintain those highway speeds - it is a range suck.  You are also taking in cold air over your batteries at a much faster rate.  Keep your speed under 65MPH or avoid the highway altogether....there are a few alternate routes for me where the speed limit is 45MPH or less, it takes me an extra 10 mins but I keep my range.

REGEN WHEN YOU CAN

Regenerative braking is allowing the electric motor to slow the car down, therefore, putting energy back into the battery.  Proper regen can extend range up to 20% which in the ActiveE gets us to 100 or so.  In winter 100 miles is really not possible but regen is still a very effective way to maintain winter range.  Whenever I can I regen, even if it is so slight you can hardly notice, every little % I can stick back into my battery is closer to getting me home.  The ActiveE has a great system where accelerating and regen is all done with the accelerator so simply throttling back, if you will, engages regen and I can modulate the power of it with my foot easily.  It works.  Each EV is a little different, but practice will make it so you can coast down a slight decline, regen, and keep up with traffic and not upset folks behind you.

TAKE IT EASY

Simple right, but I'm serious.  Chill out, no pun intended, when driving.  Think twice about passing the car ahead or beating that other guy off the line...it might be fun but you just cost yourself range.  Stay with the flow of traffic, plan ahead so you know if you need to gradually accelerate or decelerate for a decent regen.  Keep the power gauge needle (this is for ActiveE folks) within the first marker as best you can.

A shot of the ActiveE power gauge (right dial) and keeping the needle below the first marker

BUNDLE UP

Probably one of the most effective forms of range maintenance, bundle up.   Really bundle up, like you are going skiing, wear long underwear and warm boots like lined LL Beans or similar.  You can always change into regular shoes when you get to work.  I don't wear gloves or a thick hat because I feel like a dork - hey look at that guy whose car has a broken heater - anyway, a cap is fine, I do wear my coat with layers underneath.   Most gas car drivers do to.

USE THE SUN

I don't mean solar, I mean park out in the sun to warm up your batteries as well as interior.  It really works.

An example of the lot I parked at in Jersey City and results after my commute - warming the AE in the sun helped, you can see my ActiveE (Serenity) sunning herself on the roof

Plug in at work if you can - seems obvious but during winter more important than ever.  Even a standard 110 outlet will keep the batteries a little warmer and give you a decent charge so you can drive home with heat.

Got a heated garage at home or work...use it.  I don't, my ActiveE stays outside in the elements so I always precondition and sometimes I do it twice if the first precondition did not warm them up the batteries well enough and I need to go the distance

Should you worry if your car sits all day at work and the battery drops to low 30s?  Not really, there is not much you can do.  I've noticed that the battery warms up pretty quickly on the ActiveE once I get driving which tells me the battery temp showing is not the entire pack(s) - it must be an average.  Because if I let my car sit for a day and the battery reads 32 my range is way down and I'm burning energy in no time just by driving a few miles and the battery temp does not climb very quickly.  The picture below shows my battery temp after work and my range stayed at 50 left, going home I was comfortably within range and the battery warmed up to 44.

My battery after work...not really a big deal in the ActiveE, range was the same

How is an EV in the snow?  I can't speak for other EVs but I found the ActiveE to be pretty impressive and I've driven it in some very nasty conditions.  I'm not saying it is like a 4x4 but for a rear wheel drive car with all seasons it was better than I thought.  For example the Pulaski Skyway (Rt. 1/9 NJ) as a sheet of ice, a truly white knuckle experience but the car did amazingly well.  I chalk it up to its weight, it stays planted.  I also think putting the AE into eco-pro is a huge help for traction and not just range.  Since EVs basically have direct drive you have amazing control over wheel spin, there are no sudden thrusts of power like a gas engine gives, the power is linear in an EV so you can literally roll off from a stand still and maintain traction surprisingly well.

I've had a few occasions to drive the ActiveE in some nasty conditions, I was always impressed with it's ability to stay on the road

Can I park my EV outside in the elements?  Of course you can, I do.  I've never had an issue with charging outside, well maybe I had to chip some ice off but that was about it.  No damage to the car or charger.

One example of being ICE'd...literally 

This one was a bit more extreme, I had to wait for outside temp to warm up, still, no harm done.

How cold is too cold?  Well I have driven in temps below 5 degrees and just like any other car the EV feels the cold.  Range is down but the car is fine.

7 degrees is pretty cold but I've seen colder - EVs, just like any other car, do not like it this cold

After reading this you are probably wondering what advantages does an EV have over a gas car in the cold?  Still a few, other than the lack of pollution and the fact they are a blast to drive in hot or cold temps there are still a few...read on

No need to warm it up, just turn your EV on and go. Depending on your make of EV the electric heater warms up fast, yes it uses more energy but for quick trips that electric heater works well.  It also works for when you are parked somewhere, uses far less energy just stay stationary  Good for hanging out in a parking lot waiting for your passenger and staying warm, you can run the heater without polluting others or yourself.

You can precondition your EV - this means warming up the interior which can be done remotely, depending on make of EV, with an app. Do this in a gas car and you need to walk outside to turn it on (unless you have remote start) and run the engine for awhile wasting fuel and have exhaust fumes drift around.

They are still cheaper to operate.  Yes, my range is down so I charge more but gas cars are also less efficient in the cold but I still use no where near the amount of energy a gas car takes.  Plus, I do not have to winterize my car, no special engine oil needed.

Above are just a few of my techniques for keeping range stable during cold weather, fortunately my office has moved so my commute is now 60 miles round trip down from 76, I still don't have a place to charge up at my office but even on the coldest days I make it. I know there are many other techniques out there that may work for you so feel free to post them in the comments section, I'll post them in the blog.

Thanks

Chris

Educate, educate, educate...then educate some more

I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you want people to adopt EVs you have got to get out there and show those EVs in the wild, not some show room or fancy press event, and make sure you have actual drivers doing the talking (with their cars and not just one) not a test driver or engineer from the manufacturer.  Fancy flash work and test drivers are cool on a closed course or environment but as soon as the audience goes home the interest fades and they go back to thinking ICE thoughts 

We have to get people to think - "Wow, he drives it everyday, he takes his family in it, he did over 15,000 miles in one year and he is having fun.  He used to drive a gas car and he does not want to go back, I want to know more".

Showing off our cars is easy, just driving around is not enough, you need an audience, how?  Easier than you think.  There are tons of free car shows that you can call up or just appear at and they will let you in.  I find it most effective to go to all ICE shows, they really like EVs and you will be the center of attention.  Another very effective way to show off your EV is to ask schools if you could demo your car, I have never been turned down by a school.  They love these cars, especially as most have 'green days', and they totally get it.  It is a lot of fun for you as well.  The kids have great questions, especially when you tell them EVs are fast and fun.  After all, they very well could be future EV drivers.  I've shown mine to pre-schools up to Colleges.  You may be surprised how 3 year olds totally get what EVs are about.  Best comment I've received so far from a pre-schooler was the car does not stink since there is no pipe in the back.  He was 100% correct.

I'm just tossing a few photos up here (there are many more) to give you an idea of all the types of educating you can do with EVs....it is a lot of fun and it really works.  Want to get involved?  Message me or join one of our facebook groups to keep up to date.

New Jersey Electric Auto Association (NJEAA)
BMW ActiveE Group

Showing EVs at Kimberly Clark School in Montclair

Demonstrating the ActiveE to Mount Olive High School Physics Class

Presentation at Pershing to 'Going Green' employees

Pershing 'Going Green' corporate event

Just pulled in and they found a spot for me

Cars and Croissants - Chatham NJ

Demonstrating the ActiveE to pre-schoolers

Demonstrating the Benefits of EVs at Bergen College teen STEM day

Kids love to plug EVs in - would you do this with a gas car?

People love to see EVs in action - Princeton Airport

Green Day at Princeton airport

People walk away seriously considering an EV....but, and this is to those manufacturers...we drivers plant the seeds but we need to keep it going and we can't do that without your support.  We are your biggest marketing asset.

Press EVent, Ice Cream, Hot Rods and ActiveEs

Today was going to be the day I drive my ActiveE around 270 miles round trip.  Why?  Well there was going to be another press event announcing new ElectricVehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) in Atlantic City NJ.  I wanted to support the effort, what good is an EVSE press event if you have no real EVs to plug in or actual drivers to talk to.  I just had to be there.

This event was put on by Environment New Jersey, I had joined them at two earlier events, however, those were pretty local.  How was I going to drive 135 miles one way with no public EVSEs along the route between my house and Atlantic City (AC) - my ActiveE gets me around 115 on average, but 135 is really pushing it and leaving no room for error.  I was going to have to get creative, map out my route and see where I could charge up along the way....I knew I would only need one boost to get myself to AC then I could charge up fully there, drive back, get that boost again and make it home.

Fortunately for me the EV community is a tight knit one - we are all happy to provide our own chargers for use with other EV drivers, I had options.  I also found a number of 'private' stations that would most likely be available to me...in EV speak, most likely is good enough.  So I was all set, but still there was something nagging at me, it was this.....why must I have to rely on friends/acquaintances or a friendly business (off the beaten track) to offer me a place to charge up - that's just not right.  Imagine the inexperienced EV driver that does not have an EV friendly network, what are they going to do?  For EVs to succeed we need to be able to drive to other locations easily that are out of our normal range.  From North NJ to Atlantic City it is basically a no EVSE zone which makes it a no EV zone as well accept for those few living in that part of NJ.

Where are those truly public EVSEs along the Garden State Parkway??  So getting down to AC to support this event was more important than ever.

In a way the trip alone was going to be fun, I could push a little harder on range and see how the ActiveE does on long trips....so how did I do?  Read on....

Map on left is the first leg of the trip before my 1st charge up - map on right is 2nd leg to AC.  Then I turn around and do the whole thing again in reverse

The Plan: My day would begin on the road at 5am to get to my 11am event...I had already plotted my route, I'd go straight down (instead of East along the GS Parkway) along the back roads which shaved about 20 miles off of my trip.  I could do this because of fellow EV driver Mary who offered me a place to charge up.  She is right in the middle of NJ and I should have power to spare by the time I got their.  I figured I'd need about 3 hrs of Level 2 charge time to get enough juice to go the rest of the way to Atlantic City, charge for an hour in AC and then back to the same mid way point for a final boost (2 hrs) and then home.  I usually get over 100 miles so this should work out just fine.

Mary was not the only one that offered me home chargers - it really is an awesome EV community.  It is so good to know that if I had gotten into a bind I'd have other places I could rely on.  What was also cool was Mary and her husband were going to join me at the event - now we had two ActiveE spreading the word.

The first part of the trip was 73 miles. I rolled out of my drive at 5:06am, it was rainy and cold, deer were everywhere checking me out, headlights were on as well as wipers, but the ActiveE did decently, when I arrived at Mary's just before 7am I still had 36% left on the battery and could go 36 more miles - being that the 'guessometer' is pretty conservative on the miles it was probably more like 40 which means I could have done the expected 115 miles.  Atlantic City was 48 more miles away, 121 total from my home.  I'm not interested in going to the edge with my ActiveE - I may have made it without a stop but not worth the risk to me.  If I had my family with me, which I normally do, I would be looking for a comfortable place to charge up for certain.

Mary and Ben's garage and garage floor - very cool looking WattStation - and Ben even washed my car!!  Don't everyone go down there and line up now.

Onward, after 3hrs of juice from Mary's super cool looking GE WattStation I had 97% on the battery with a computer guessed range of 133 miles....see what a little warmth for the battery can do, as well as no more rain.  The computer obviously remembered my 73 mile trip and readjusted due to the temp change. My range continued to increase to more than I'd ever seen it due to the flatness of this part of NJ. I could keep the power gauge at its minimum and maintain speed....this was awesome!

I followed Mary and Ben, 48 miles later, partly on highway, we were at the garage where the press event was taking place.  I still had 54% on the battery and the 'guessometer' said 56 miles left so if I was unable to use those EVSEs I could still make it back to Mary's easily - that is really good.

Quite flat and pretty down here - speeds around 65 

 We got lots of looks - how often do you see two ActiveEs in a row?

This part of NJ is full of 'Sand Trucks' with a death wish - we were doing 65 and he tries to pass us both.  Thanks for messing with our Eco-Convoy dude

Here is a good spot for a public EVSE - a GS Parkway rest stop - just imagine

We made it easily - the Wave Garage with 6 lovely EVSEs waiting for us

(220 Fairmount Ave, Atlantic City NJ)

Now let me say this has got to be one of the finest public EVSE placements I've ever seen.  You have got to check this place out.  There were 6 spaces each with a level 2 EVSE in their own section, this was VIP EV parking!  It was very well lit, up front near the entrance and very clean.  Even the restrooms were clean!!  Here comes the best part - FREE CHARGING.  Just pay for parking like everyone else.  Casinos, shopping and restaurants are all nearby plus a Jitney service.

Is this the VIP EV section - quite possible is.  The Prius is with the event 

From another angle - when you pull in look left - you have to drive all the way around the 1st level to reach the EV entrance.  But just look at all of that room.  They block it off to ICE cars

So we were here for a press event and an event we did.  For nearly two hours they filmed the cars and interviewed us.  I stressed as much as I could about how important it was to have public stations along our main highways.  Level 3s and Level 2s.

Doug O'Malley of Environment New Jersey and Kim Butler of CRDA were singing the praises of EVSEs and the importance of zero emission vehicles.  Filming was WMGM-TV and Press of Atlantic City.  Article with video is here WMGM, (video is at the top) and here is the article from Press of Atlantic City

ChargePoint/Leviton Level 2s (6 units).  I was able to charge as high as 5.8 kW with no faults

Mary and I both plugged in.  As you may know ActiveEs have some issues with ChargePoint and Clipper Creek commercial units.  Luckily I had no issues at all (I was on station 3), Mary had a number of ground fault errors.  Fortunately she had enough juice to get back.  Both BMW and ChargePoint are working on a fix - I hear it won't be long now so this will be a non-issue.

We had a 2012 Nissan LEAF join us from a local dealer.  Here was the shocker, the dealer does not have an EVSE.  Nissan, if you are serious about EVs make your dealers get an EVSE or they can't sell the car - come on!

On the way back I was getting some amazing range, I think this time the computer was a tad optimistic but it became clear to me that down along the flats 125 mile range is not out of the question if you take it easy.   Even though the computer was showing me close to 150 miles I'm the one that is going to remain conservative here but I was stoked....this trip was becoming a lot of fun and I was becoming more and more confident in the abilities of my ActiveE.  Anyway - the return trip from AC to Mary's showed after 48 miles I had 54% left on the battery and 67 miles remaining - even better than going down....darn good and that is a solid 115 even though we drove a tad faster and hit a huge rain storm.

I have already done over 40 miles and look at this - flat roads are my friend

Serenity and Joule say their goodbyes - we head North

On the way back I drove past this cool looking Ice Cream stand - I remembered seeing it on the way down - but this time it was full of Hot Rods....I had to stop.  I was thinking to wrap up the day wouldn't it be cool to get a picture of the ActiveE next to a hot rod for contrast - retro and the future.  Well what I thought would be 5 mins turned out to be over an hour.  As soon as I pulled into the lot I was asked to park in the Hot Rod row and the ActiveE was immediately swamped with interest.  The people loved it!!  There were some gorgeous customs and muscle cars (A Camaro SS 396 appeared) there but again the ActiveE had no shortage of fans.  Just like the Cars and Croissants events I attend, car people love cars and an EV is a car.  It is why I think car enthusiasts will make EVs successful.

I pulled in for a quick picture with some retro cars - before I knew it I was part of the show 

The Ice Cream stand is TK's Ice Cream in Cream Ridge NJ (that is not a typo).  Very friendly people and the owner said he would definitively consider installing an EVSE  if it made sense - any EVSE manufacturers out there want to offer some help?  This Ice Cream stand is actually in a perfect spot, right in the middle of NJ.

There were 20 or so people to the right waiting to get a look

This was a very cool car event and Ice Cream stand - lots of fun

One last look from a generation that I'm sure will be driving EVs

Final tally was 248 miles and overall efficiency was 4.0 mls/kWh.  The computer showed me a lot of different range numbers during the trip, so how did I really do?  Well the computer does a pretty decent job of range calculation, up north I found it very conservative but down south I found it optimistic....how is that possible, I have no clue.  My ActiveE gets a solid 115 and where I came from 125 is doable and that is not hypermiling at all and using AC going as fast as 65mph.  I accelerated like anyone else......the car just plain works.   One other thing, I was not fatigued.  That is the beauty of an EV - very little driver fatigue

I'm home - a lot of driving but well worth it

Here are a few things I do to extend range:

• Windows up - the ActiveE is like a parachute with them down.  You will get better range with them up and A/C on (just make sure if on auto climate control the heat does not kick in)

• Keep the needle on the eDRIVE indicator within the first main section as much as you can.  The ActiveE accelerates slowly off the line in Eco Pro but the torque wave comes up quick enough - catch it and hold it to gain speed

• If at a stop and on an incline turn off Eco Pro to launch you a bit faster, once you are moving switch back to Eco Pro - With Eco Pro on it prolongs the climb using more energy.

• Keep your momentum - it is tempting to regen down a hill but that scrubs speed - just regen slightly, it might not slow you down at all but you will gain a little bit and over a long trip a little bit adds up

• Plan ahead and read the road - If traffic is slowing back off a bit and coast, it may start up again so you won't have to accelerate as hard.  Coming to a red light take it slow, it probably will turn green before you need to stop.  Read that road...look ahead, is there a hill coming and is there one after it.  Gauge your speed so you have enough to get over the crest while keeping with traffic....catch up on the downhill but do it gradually.  You can give a little extra juice just to get up a hill in most cases, it is all about momentum.

Don't go above 70mph and keep the eDRIVE needle within the first section

So is AC reasonably accessible to me?  Yes.  If I had access to just 1 public EVSE I would need about 1 hr (no more than 1.5 hrs) to charge so I could make it comfortably to AC which is the time it takes for lunch with my family.

I'm more confident than ever in taking 100 mile trips now.

Cars and Croissants - Dawn of the EV

I attended my 4th 'Cars and Croissants' this past weekend and so did a few more EVs.  We had some great weather today and other than the amazing cars that turned out - probably 75 cars- we had 3 ActiveEs including mine. They were joined by a Chevy Volt and a Prius plugin.  At this rate we will need our own EV section soon.

I arrived early and the ActiveE is already attracting attention 

Tom Moloughney joined us for the first time, passing 21,000 miles in the process.  Yes you read that correctly, Tom has 21,000 miles on his ActiveE already - not a drop of gas.  We were also joined by Michael and his ActiveE, his first time at Cars and Croissants too.  Mark brought his Chevy Volt and another newcomer drove up with his brand new Prius Plugin.  This was a fantastic EV turn out.

A 2nd ActiveE joined by a Chevy Volt 

As usual people came up to ask us questions.  Cars and Croissants is such a great event because the drivers and guests are all car people, they love them.  They are as interested in the exotics as they are in the EVs.  In fact, many are open to getting an EV and some were even on the list for the ActiveE.

The ActiveE is a 1 series and gets lots of compliments, stripes included, of course I show them pictures of the new i3 and more often than not at this event it gets a luke warm reaction.  I'm usually asked when will BMW build a 1 series EV they can buy....hear that BMW?

Anyway - it was great talking EV talk and cool car talk...check out the pics.

Prius Plugin -  interesting how the EVs all have their hoods up

That is a lotus in the middle - not a Tesla.  No Tesla today

Tom shows up and is immediately swamped with questions - having 3 ActiveEs surprised everyone

 A 1956 Ferrari 250 - the owner told me it took him 10 years to restore it - he did the restoration!

Another look down the row 

I'm a big muscle car fan - used to restore these back in the day 

 This is the 2nd set of cars

A real beauty and for sale

Interesting plates 

You don't see one of these everyday

Nor one of these Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 - only 600 made and 126 in the US

Looking up the line 

There was lots of American muscle today (new and old) - really great to see 

As a couple of EVs left I shifted over to bunch up

The event is winding down - it was so great to see everyone

If you are in the Northern NJ area and you drive an EV please come to the next event....you will be pleasantly surprised at how much interest there will be in your EV as well as the equally amazing cars that surround you.  Since dates and location change often, sometimes the day before, I'll post here and to the ActiveE facebook group when the next one is - but next tentative date is August 25th 8:30 to 11 at the Chatham NJ HS parking lot - they are usually every 2 weeks.