Canadian Know-How: EVs Aren’t Useless In The Cold – CleanTechnica

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I don’t know about you, but I see people making this dumb claim all the time. “EVs don’t work in the cold!” they say. “I’ll never be able to buy one because I don’t live in sunny southern California.” After that, they probably hit “post,” slide their made in China phone into the pocket of their pants from Bangladesh, and then congratulate themselves for saving real American manufacturing or something.

But there’s just one problem: it’s 100% false, and Canadians (those mean people who don’t want to be the 51st state) gave us the proof.

If EVs didn’t work out in the cold, you’d think that the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) would be the first to know. After all, it’s friggin’ cold up there! If we are to believe the anti-EV FUD Hype, there should be EVs on the side of every Canadian road, somehow simultaneously freezing and burning. Once the never-ending fire ends, the owners freeze to death, and their last words are usually something like, “I wish I bought a real American truck that runs on a mixture of diesel fuel and liberal tears!”

But the CAA has found the exact opposite of that when the organization tested a variety of EV models. Enough models to represent about ⅔ of what Canadian buyers have available to buy. They were sent on a trip from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant to see both how many kilometers it took to go dead and how long it takes to get a reasonable recharge at charging stations.

“CAA is responding to a top concern of Canadians when it comes to EVs,” said Ian Jack, vice-president for public affairs at CAA National, referring to figures showing that most EV owners are impacted by the cold. “We measured the effective range of electric vehicles in cold weather and how quickly they charge. These insights are critical for both current EV owners and those considering making the switch.”

The actual impact varied widely. Some vehicles did better than expected under winter conditions, while others did worse than expected. Range losses were as low as 14% for some vehicles, while as high as 39% for the worst, with the top performers being the Silverado EV and the Polestar 2, but no vehicles became “worthless” or “useless.” In 15 minutes, vehicles were able to add back 100–200 km to range estimates, showing wide variability.

After testing, the CAA had recommendations for government and vehicles owners. On the government side, the CAA would like to see automakers required to share both a year-round average range and ranges in the winter. This would help drivers understand what they’re getting into. Also, the CAA encourages practices like preconditioning, clearing snow and ice while the vehicle is plugged in, use of heated seats to use less energy on heating, and parking indoors when possible.

The next time you hear someone tell people that EVs are useless in winter, be sure to remind them that the actual experts on winter driving don’t agree with that assessment. While there are real impacts on range, it’s possible to plan ahead and make sure your EV has enough range for winter. It’s also very much possible to limit the impacts of cold weather with smart driving and charging practices!

Featured image by Kyle Field, CleanTechnica.