Washington Post writer Charles Lane recently wrote an article called “Cold truths about electric cars’ cold-weather shortcomings.”
The piece was inspired by his experience being stuck in traffic for six hours due to last week’s snowstorm. During the ordeal, he found a silver lining – he was not driving an electric vehicles (EVs). Lane lists decreased battery performance/range in cold weather and the inability to charge during power outages as reasons why Electric Vehicles are not a good idea especially in cold climates.
That didn’t sit well with Mini E driver Tom Moloughney, who has challenged Lane’s views on Electric Vehicles by inviting him to spend a few days with him and his electric vehicles. Moloughney disputes the thecarelectric.com quote Lane included in his article which states that a “change of ten degrees can sap 50% of a battery’s output,” saying:
“I can tell you with 100% certainty that I have found no amount of temperature drop that reduces my range by 50%. I have kept detailed logs of every trip I have made in the car for the entire 49,500 miles, so I know how temperature affects range. I’m not guessing or relying what someone else wrote about it. I’ve lived it. A 10 degree drop will affect my range by about 5% at most, and that’s once you get less than 30 degrees.”
Moloughney does admit that today’s Electric Vehicles are not built for the cold, but says that they are still a viable option in such climate as long as drivers are aware of the limitations and prepare accordingly. He also points out that we are just at the early stages of Electric Vehicles development and they are just bound to get better in time.
