Posted on 07/22/2023 9:25:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Biden Administration, as we have seen in recent reporting, seems determined to get Americans to switch to an electric vehicle (EV) whether you like it or not. This is done in the name of “green” policies and climate change, but it’s been known for some time that cold weather dramatically reduces the range an EV has per charge. But now, we learn that hot weather can have the same effect.
A new study suggests that excessive heat can greatly diminish electric vehicle range. The findings are similar to other studies that show how excessive cold also reduces range. Thankfully, it seems as though the range is mostly unaffected unless the temperature is in the triple digits.
Seattle-based Recurrent studies and tests thousands of vehicles each year in order to analyze the relationship between batteries and their range. Its latest data indicates that when things get really hot, EVs could lose almost a third of their stated range. While Recurrent didn’t name names, it says that some vehicles saw a drop in their range of 31 percent when temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
It’s significant to note that, this summer, much of the American Southwest has seen temps consistently over 100 degrees. If you live in Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, or Las Cruces, New Mexico, prepare to lose 30 percent of your EV’s range through most of the summer.
Recurrent, the company that has done this testing, has already shown how freezing cold weather affects EV performance:
Recurrent is the same company that last year found that freezing temperatures have a nearly identical effect. Both the Ford Mustang Mach-E and the Volkswagen ID.4 saw dips in range of 30 percent when temps dropped below 30 degrees Fahrenheit (-1 degrees Celsius). At the same time, it’s worth noting that less extreme temperatures exhibit very little influence on battery range.
Look closely at that: the dips happened in the range of 30 percent at temps below 30 degrees. Here in our Great Land homestead, in winter it won’t rise above 30 degrees for months. I’d also point out that, in the words of Aaron Lewis, it’s “half-hour from my front door, to a Walmart or a grocery store.” The same applies to places like Fraser, Colorado, Fargo, North Dakota, or International Falls, Minnesota (which often clocks the record low every winter). EVs are, again, less useful than gas or diesel vehicles there—and plenty of other places.
Not every part of the country has San Francisco’s climate.
It seems as though we’ll have to wait to see if Recurrent releases any data on which models specifically suffer the most in high temps. Until then the lesson is clear, avoid driving electric vehicles in extreme weather conditions whenever possible.
In a nutshell, electric vehicles are not and likely never will be as versatile across a range of weather conditions as traditionally-fueled vehicles. The United States is a big place; across the country, we can see lows of minus-20 and lower here in Alaska or in places like Minnesota and the Dakotas, while summers in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico can see temps into the triple digits for weeks at a time. EVs are not particularly useful under these conditions.
This should be another nail in the coffin of government subsidization and regulation of products in the name of “green” policies.
The whole push for EVs in particular is becoming laughable as more and more of these studies are released. They simply never will be as versatile under a wide range of conditions, especially for long road trips, as a traditionally-fueled automobile. One can see how a small EV would be great for urban commuters, but for rural and small-town folks who generally cover greater distances, not so much.
Government, at any level, should not be involved in picking economic winners and losers. Markets usually get things right in the long run, and we should let them do that. Some drivers will find EVs useful and desirable; they’ll buy them. Some of us rely on traditionally-fueled vehicles because of weather or long-distance driving, or just because we prefer them. It’s nobody else’s business what anyone chooses to buy and drive, and it sure as shooting isn’t the government’s business. And as bad as these policies are, how long will it be before some government functionary, in the name of “green” policy, decides that we rural dwellers shouldn’t be allowed to live where we choose, and should be instead shoved into a 15-minute city?
And remember; they aren’t just pushing bad policies on cars.
There is an apocryphal quote generally attributed to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who was a brilliant military mind but an insufferable elitist jerk. He was supposed to have said that he was opposed to the growth of passenger railroads, claiming they would “foster unrest by allowing the lower orders to move more freely about.”
The attribution to Wellington may be fallacious, but the sentiment isn’t; you see it every time the “green” elites gather, and you see it in the push for inefficient electric cars.
OH NOOOOOEZ !!!
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How can this be?
Pete Buttijuice said they are the salvation of the planet!
I want to hear more on the Science behind it from Camel Harris.
This ONLY affects people dumb enough to actually drive their EV.
“There is an apocryphal quote generally attributed to Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who was a brilliant military mind but an insufferable elitist jerk. He was supposed to have said that he was opposed to the growth of passenger railroads, claiming they would “foster unrest by allowing the lower orders to move more freely about.” “
I much prefer the old style military / aristocratic elite who weren’t afraid to tell it like it is without faking or obfuscation. Lions, not foxes.
Compare with current cowardly craven “elites” who hide an even more malevolent agenda behind a smokescreen of woke and environmental “concern”.
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Joe visited General Motors - and when he left his sister and his niece were in coveted positions.
Some time later, Subsides and Loans came thru for GM.
You don’t think Joe? No, how could anyone think… No, can’t be.
Prepare to lose 30 percent of your EV’s range through most of the summer??
Did they tell them that before they were sold?
Gezzz
I would guess that is from the air conditioner.
Aside from range limitations — Lithium Iron Phosphate cells (LiFePO4, or in Tesla parlance LFP) deteriorate with prolonged use at high temperatures. So not only does your battery endurance drop, but your battery wears out more quickly in high temperature usage.
Oh, and by the way, it KILLS LiFePO4 cells to charge them below freezing. Therefore the battery management system disallows it. Bye bye range! Or, you can use the battery’s power to heat itself so you can charge it when ambient temperatures are cold. Again, bye bye range.
I like my diesel ride, which suffers from NONE of these idiosyncrasies.
Cold weather too.
And hills.
and heavy loads.
and lack of electricity.
and other stuff.
But downhill on a nice 50-60 degree day, with a tailwind, that’s pretty good.
My thought too. Heater in the winter, air conditioner in the summer. What could go wrong? People can’t learn. There is no free ride. EV=Suck. Whatcha gonna do? Walk too a charging station and get a jug of charge to put in it.
Beauty is skin deep. Stupid goes clear to the bone.
O you use a plug-in block heater in the winter in your diesel?
[do] you use a plug-in block heater in the winter in your diesel?
Nope, don’t have a block heater. But so what if I do? This isn’t about the *energy efficiency* of cold weather driving... it’s about basic drivability issues, like how long your vehicle will carry you from point A to point B on a full tank of fossil fuel, or a fully charged battery. That is to say, *range*.
Use of a block heater in my garage would in no way reduce my diesel’s range once I’m out on the road. Not so, with an EV.
Does it really take a guy in a white lab coat and a stupid title to make folks realize batteries don’t really like the extreme hot or cold?
Next genius discovery: batteries have a finite cycle life.
Other minor details: batteries have resistance when being charged by that coal or gas plant producing power for that “zero emissions” vehicle. Batteries weigh a lot. Batteries use rare earth metals or even heavy metals and some of the materials come from third world nations where there are no EPA, OSHA standards, or laws against child and forced labor. Batteries do not like to be charged quickly.
The electric car is for an urban homo.
Running AC off a battery is a bad idea.
People plug in their cars (gasoline) or diesel drivers plug in their trucks to have them warm faster for comfort, to save wear and tear (cold oil) on their vehicles. On a diesel you have glow plugs or an air heating grid to help the diesel flash easier, you know that and so do I. Most of the uneducated Rio Linda crowed don’t, they have a cool aide problem. Besides diesels rule. Move heavy loads or farm without them. Ain’t happening. Regards. 🙂
“New Data Shows Hot Weather Devastating for the Endurance of Electric Vehicles”
cold weather is devastating too ... on the colorado front range, EVs disappear off the roads during the winter, but when spring rolls around, they come out of hibernation like johnny jump-ups and zip around until is gets REALLY hot, and then they disappear again ...
fair weather, short distance cars for level, non-mountainous urban roads at best ...
“I would guess that is from the air conditioner.”
uh, batteries perform extremely poorly in very hot and very cold weather ...
good to see Dore pick up on this. what a scam:
22 July: Youtube: 17m11s: Jimmy Dore Show: Bombshell! Last Week’s Record High Temperatures Were FAKED!
Recent reports of skyrocketing record temperatures across Europe were terrifying but guess what — they were also inaccurate. News programs reported on surface temperatures rather than air temperatures — the latter are what we’re used to hearing but surfact temperatures can be significantly higher, and more frightening.
Jimmy and Americans’ Comedian Kurt Metzger discuss why the establishment has taken to outright lying about key climate change issues.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arjKzv2oojI
19 July: WattsUpWithThat: Europe’s “48°C Horror That Never Was”…ESA, Media Sharply Criticized For Manipulative Reporting
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/07/19/europes-48c-horror-that-never-wasesa-media-sharply-criticized-for-manipulative-reporting/
Fair weather cars...
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