In today's short post, we will share with you tips on how to increase your EV's range!
Key take-aways:
- Keep good tire pressure to improve range by up to 3%!.
- Use regenerative braking in urban or hilly areas to recharge the battery and extend range by up to 5-15%!
- Accelerate slower to save energy and extend battery life.
- Coast to stops to conserve energy and reduce brake wear.
- Slower charging will prolong battery life and reduce wear.
- Lower speeds increase range significantly due to reduced air resistance and power usage.
- Charge your EV fully regularly and maintain battery health
- Use eco mode!
Boosting Your Electric Vehicle's Distance Per Charge
As battery technologies evolve, so does the capacity for our electric vehicles to travel longer distances on a single charge. Yet, the quest for additional mileage seems perpetual.
Fortunately, increasing your EV's mileage doesn't necessarily require upgrades. Often, minor adjustments to your driving habits can substantially maximize your vehicle's efficiency, ensuring you make the most out of every charge.
Moderate Acceleration Use
Accelerating hard is undeniably thrilling, propelling you into the distance. However, rapid acceleration is a significant energy drain compared to maintaining a steady speed. Slowly accelerating will reveal that rapid acceleration consumes much more power than cruising.
To conserve energy, slowly increase your speed using your momentum, avoiding the temptation to floor the accelerator. This approach not only conserves battery power but also promotes battery longevity by keeping it cooler, increasing your overall range.
Maintain Optimal Tire Pressure
Properly inflated tires reduce rolling resistance, thereby decreasing the energy needed for your EV to move. While specific studies on EV tire pressure are scarce, analogous research on gasoline vehicles suggests that optimal tire pressure can improve range by approximately 3%.
Ensuring your tires are always at their recommended pressure could effortlessly add miles to your range, a small but significant enhancement for any electric vehicle owner.
Maximize Coasting Benefits
Anticipating traffic lights and stops and allowing your vehicle to coast to a halt can significantly conserve battery power. Suddenly stopping from full speed kills energy that could have been saved by simply easing off the accelerator sooner, and of course saves on brake pads and new discs.
Try the Slower Approach
Need to get to a friend or family members house that is perhaps 14 miles away and your battery usually only gets you 10? Not rushing unnecessarily can have a surprisingly positive effect on your EV's energy consumption. Reducing your speed reduces the power required to maintain that speed, thanks to the non-linear relationship between speed and energy use, For example going half your usually speed can increase your range by 60-70%!
By simply slowing down, you can enjoy the scenery a bit more while substantially increasing your electric vehicle's distance per charge.
Use Eco Mode
You might not want to hear the obvious but turning on Eco Mode in your electric vehicle helps you drive more efficiently! This smart feature adjusts your power use, helping you save energy, extend your battery life, and increase your driving range. It's an easy way to make every charge last longer and keep your battery in top condition.
Try a Regenerative Breaking Controller
For those that live in urban or steep and hilly environments and for those that have regenerative braking, this feature is great for many reasons. It works by capturing the vehicle's kinetic energy during braking and converting it into electrical energy, which can then be used to recharge the vehicle's battery. By using regenerative braking effectively, you'll not only be extending the range of you EV, but you'll be saving your break pads too! Regen can effectively be used to slow down to a near stop, its also really good for regulating your speeds down a hill, again saving those pads.
Check out some Controllers with regen functionality here:
Regularly Recharge Your Battery
To maximize range, keeping your EV's battery fully charged is crucial. Operating on a partially charged battery not only limits your immediate range but can also affect long-term battery health.
Adhering to a routine of charging your EV after daily use ensures readiness for any journey, eliminating concerns over battery capacity when you need it most.
But use a Less Powerful Charger
We know the urge to quickly charge your EV's battery is strong, especially when you're pressed for time. However, when you're not in a rush, consider the benefits of a slower, more deliberate charging approach. Using a charger that outputs a lower current is a good choice for when you don't really need that immediate-fast charge.
Its pretty technical but the logic behind it is straightforward: the slower you charge your battery, the more you can prolong its lifespan. Fast charging is convenient but can strain the battery over time, leading to a shorter overall lifespan and reduced capacity. By opting for a slower charging method, you're essentially giving your battery a more gentle treatment, which can help maintain its health and efficiency in the long run.