A typical gasoline cars gets a 12% range reduction in cold weather.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/coldweather.shtml
“But I am actually more interested in how hot weather affects it. I know for example that a Volt owner manual states not to leave the car out in the sun without being plugged in....energy is needed to cool the batteries.”
The manual does not say that. It says to use sunshades when parking in direct sunlight when it is hot.
“In hot weather, avoid parking in direct sunlight or use sunshades inside the vehicle.”
It is common knowledge among EV owners that cold weather hurts electric cars range much more than hot weather does.
(As long as you are not talking about the Nissan Leaf, which went the cheap route among mainstream electric cars and did not include active liquid cooling for their battery. As a result, early model years suffered some permanent range reduction from the heat in Arizona. They have addressed this issue in recent years.)
“Use the following tips to help maximize energy efficiency and range.”
It is not required for the health of the battery, it is just there as a tip in order to save energy.
Now, for long-term storage, then yes, you should not leave it in the sunlight because the battery will eventually run out of juice keeping itself cool. But you should follow this advice for any kind of car because of the damage that weeks of cooking in the sun can do. I think sunshades were invented long before electric cars.
“A typical gasoline cars gets a 12% range reduction in cold weather.”
Are you kidding me? This thread is about a 270 km range test. Your link points out that on 3-4 mile trips you get lousy mileage. Swing and a miss.
“The manual does not say that”
Really? Then exactly what is the manual saying when it states this:
“Keep the vehicle plugged in, even when fully charged, to keep the battery temperature ready for the next drive. This is important when outside temperatures are extremely hot or cold.”
“It is common knowledge among EV owners that cold weather hurts electric cars range much more than hot weather does.”
I’d love to see some real world data. It costs a ton of $$ to cool my house...ac adds a noticeable load to my car...but in an EV it has little effect? I doubt it - and remember, ac is not just a creature comfort...its a battery comfort. Anyway, I think it would be just swell if that sort of ‘common knowledge’ could be demonstrated fact before we the sheeple subsidize these schemes.