This is why electric cars don’t reduce the range of air conditioning much in hot weather
The reduction in EV range in cold weather has been well documented, but EVs may have an advantage over cars that burn while driving in hot weather with the air conditioning blown up.
periodicmanufacture battery health report For used electric vehicles, data was analyzed from 7,500 vehicles to see if heating and air conditioning usage ranges were affected. The analysis found that the air conditioner had a much smaller range impact than the heaters used to warm the cabin in cold weather, only starting to decrease at the total range when the temperature rose above 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Among the vehicles analyzed, the average range reduction at 80 degrees was just 2.8%, increasing to 5% at 90 degrees. The data also shows an average loss range of 31% at 100 degrees, but Recurrent notes that this is based on a very limited sample.
Nissan Leaf 2023
The limited number of EV drivers in triple-digit temperatures illustrates one reason why hot weather isn’t as much of an issue for the range as cold weather. In the summer, the average temperature change needed to make a car’s interior comfortable is smaller, at 20 degrees to 25 degrees, compared with 50 degrees in winter, according to Recurrent. So less energy is needed.
Unlike an internal combustion car, there is also no difference in the energy usage of running the air conditioning in an EV when idling or driving. That’s because electric cars don’t have heat-generating engines that the air conditioner has to fight to keep the temperature down. Lack of engine heat can be a problem for EV cabin warming in cold temperatures, but it’s an advantage here.
Recurrent notes that electric vehicles can also be set to pre-cool their cabin when plugged in, which can save a significant amount of energy. The most energy-intensive part of the air conditioner is to cool the cabin, requiring less energy to maintain the set temperature. According to Recurrent, it can take 3-5 kilowatts of energy to bring a 95-degree car to a comfortable temperature of around 70 degrees, but only about 1 kilowatt-hour is needed to keep it there.
Nissan Leaf 2024
Recurrence also considered cold weather range, found that it actually happens, but varies by model. The company’s analysis shows that electric vehicles with heat pumps tend to maintain most of their operating range. Recurrent also found that most electric vehicles today have more than enough range to satisfy driving needs, so it’s essentially equivalent to spend more time on the charger.
Inclement weather can also lead to more battery degradation, but as data from the company recently suggested and confirmed, it is inability to brick your EV.
