Electric Vehicle Owners Struggle to Keep Batteries Alive Amid Winter Freeze
Electric vehicle owners in northern states are struggling to keep their car batteries powered amid a frigid winter freeze event that has brought on sub-zero temperatures.
A new poll has found that 65% of Americans say they are not considering purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) for their next car. As a cold freeze sweeps across the midwest, that number has the potential to increase.
More than 90 million Americans are under wind chill advisories this week, and EV owners are some of the most negatively affected. In Chicago, reports of charging stations with long lines and stranded drivers were published.
The Hill reported that in Skokie, Illinois, which neighbors Chicago, 20 Tesla Supercharger stations were filled nearly all day Monday, “with drivers waiting nearby for spots to open up.” Some EV drivers had to load their vehicles onto a tow truck after their batteries died while waiting for a charging station. Other reports said that charging stations had become “car graveyards” as hoards of EVs have been left stranded for days.
“You’re back at the charger twice a day,” Darryl Johnson, an Uber driver and EV owner told WGN9. The frustrated EV owner said that he waits two hours for a charging station to open up, and another for his vehicle to charge, only for the battery to die shortly after due to the freezing temperatures.
A AAA study from 2019 found that in 20-degree Fahrenheit temperatures, when the vehicle heater was not in use, the EV driving range fell by 12%. “This means for every 100 miles of combined urban/highway driving, the range at 20°F would be reduced to 59 miles,” the report stated. When the vehicle’s internal heater was in use, the driving range plummeted by 41%.
“As long as drivers understand that there are limitations when operating electric vehicles in more extreme climates, they are less likely to be caught off guard by an unexpected drop in driving range,” AAA’s director of automotive engineering, Greg Brannon, explained in a statement.
AAA also found that Tesla, for example, had a range of 239 miles at 75 degrees. But that range fell to just 91 miles at 20 degrees.
Rasmussen Reports found that, given the pitfalls of EVs, more than 70% of Americans making between $30,000 and $50,000 annually are not considering purchasing an EV; while more than half of the top earners making more than $200,000 a year make up the potential customer base.
