How does the use of electrical appliances in an electric car affect the vehicle's range?

I am a regular reader of your excellent columns in the Telegraph, however, the following points do not seem to have been covered. Nothing appears to have been said in the media about the effect of operating the usual electrical services in electric cars, such as heaters and air-conditioning. Indeed, operating these features will probably considerably reduce the operating range of these cars. I think some standard reference data should be provided to show the range of electric cars under ideal constant 30mph level driving (and for the standard 'urban' conditions) with no other electrical services operating, then again with all services operating (i.e. headlights, air-conditioning, heater, radio, satnav) which would show up the range limitations of electric cars.

The approximate lifetime of the batteries, and cost of replacement batteries (inc. fitting) should also be stated. Probably the manufacturers will not like to give these details, but surely these factors are basic info for purchasers for selection purposes, and the different battery types will have quite different capabilities?

Asked on 15 June 2011 by GS, Haywards Heath

Answered by Honest John

I have covered this before. Using the heater in winter reduces the range by 40 per cent. Using the a/c in summer reduces the range by 25 per cent. 'Clever' electric cars like the Nissan Leaf constantly monitor what is being used and make suggestions, but the truth is that electric cars make sense in cities, in towns and in suburbs for short runs from cold starts where internal combustion engines are at their most inefficient and most polluting. For long distance they are a complete red herring. And until Britain ends its reliance on coal-fired power stations, they aren’t quite as green as the greenies would have you believe.

Tags: batteries electric cars range

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