The cold limit of the electric automobiles

Photo Martin Alarie
Patrick Chouinard is the owner of a Nissan Leaf 2017, a vehicle that runs only on electricity. Although he is satisfied with his purchase, he noticed that the car has difficulty to provide heating and loses its autonomy because of the cold of the last days.

Benoît Philie

Friday, December 29, 2017 01:00

UPDATE
Friday, December 29, 2017 01:00

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New owners of electric automobiles are finding these days the limits of their vehicles, which can lose up to half of their autonomy when the temperature drops to around -20 degrees Celsius.

“There is a considerable difference in the winter. My car has an autonomy of 200 kilometers, but in the bottom of -15 °C, forget it, I’m doing maybe 120 miles with the heater in the carpet, ” says Patrick Chouinard, owner of a Nissan Leaf 2017, fully electric.

The thirty-year-old works in Montreal, about twenty miles from home. He had planned the coup in his choice of car, but it now finds the limits of his purchase.

“The winter, to be safe, you stay in a radius of 50 km. If I had purchased with the objective of making long-distance… I would be in the shit, ” he said, assuring, however, be satisfied of his car.

Richard Hilaire, owner of a Chevrolet Bolt 2017, reports for its part, losing almost 30 % self-sufficiency since the beginning of the great wave of cold that would hit the province again for a week.

Its movement capability is increased from 380 to about 260 miles, he said.

Batteries weakened

“I have a heated underground parking area at home, then it helps. But when it stays cold outside all day at work, there is a significant difference on the range, ” he observes.

Ecological and less expensive than before, the electric and hybrid cars charm more and more Quebecers. There are approximately 25, 000 on the roads of the province, and the sales double each year for the last four years, according to figures from the Association of electric vehicles Quebec (AVÉQ).

Photo Martin Alarie

The spokesperson of the AVÉQ, Martin Archambault, confirms that the performance of these machines are impaired by the cold.

“From -25 °C, it can reach 40 % to 45 % decrease in autonomy,” he said. But let’s say that it only happens a few days a year usually. “

The energy required for the heating of the passenger compartment and the weakening of the capacity of the battery are responsible for these difficulties.

“We are in a period extreme at the moment, and this is where the people who have been badly advised when purchasing realize what the cold can do,” said Mr. Archambault.

Benefits

The latter adds that the electric vehicle remains advantageous in terms of startup, this is confirmed by Jean-François Bessette, owner of a Tesla S85 purchased in 2013.

If their vehicle can run 300 km instead of 400 km in winter, it starts, however, the first time, regardless of temperature, unlike some cars with gasoline.

According to Mr. Archambault, the next generations of electric vehicles will be as efficient as gasoline cars in terms of autonomy.

Auto electric by the numbers

• About 24 000 in Quebec
• About 33 000 in Canada (as of February 1, 2017)
• 2 million in the world (as of February 1, 2017)

In Quebec :

• 55 % plug-in hybrid
• 45 % fully electric

A few tips for the winter

• Leave the vehicle plugged in at night
• Use the preheat feature when the vehicle is plugged in
• Ideally, keep the vehicle inside
• Recharge the battery when it is warmed up to save time

Frigid weather hard on the workers

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

The blue collar workers of Montreal have had to wear their clothes the most warm yesterday to brave the frigid weather that prevailed outside. The worker above had both feet in the water and the ice, while he investigates a water leak on Mill street, in The South-West.

Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

Despite the cold, the Montreal fire department had to fight a few fires yesterday, including this one on Hochelaga street. Another blaze, on the rue de Rushbrooke in Verdun, was caused by a man who tried to thaw the pipe out of her apartment with a blowtorch. Several alarms were triggered to encourage a rapid turnover among firefighters because of the temperature.

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