Six Ways to Improve Your EV’s Range And Efficiency

Can’t seem to banish your range anxiety?  

Here are six helpful tips you can use to extend your EV's range and efficiency, so you can feel secure and confident on the road.

If you want to skip to any of the six tips, here they are:

Heated Seats: Less Reliance on Battery-Draining Heaters

Heated Seats: Lower Battery Drain

Heating the cabin of an electric vehicle can quickly use up its battery, leaving you with reduced driving range. However, there is a way to stay toasty and still conserve energy. Heated seats draw less power compared to heaters and can warm passengers instead of the entire cabin.

• Heated seats are energy-efficient alternatives to car heaters.
• They only heat the area directly around the passenger rather than wasting energy heating the entire cabin.
• The heating element in the seats uses just enough electricity to warm up quickly and efficiently, without draining the battery excessively.
• You can control heated seats individually, so passengers can adjust their temperature as per their comfort.
• Reduction in energy usage due to lower reliance on traditional heating system results in better overall driving range for EVs.

Reducing your EV's energy consumption has become easier than ever with the introduction of heated seats. They consume less power and ensure your warmth even in freezing weather conditions without reducing range as much as battery-draining heaters.

To make sure that your electric vehicle lasts longer and continues to be eco-friendly, regular maintenance and periodic upgrades are necessary.

Save on heat and AC, your EV's range will be pleasing, unless you want to sweat like a wrestler in the ring.

Precondition the Car: Use Less Heat and AC While Driving

Condition the Vehicle: Use Energy-Conserving Techniques While Operating

Using less heat and AC while driving is one of the most effective ways to extend your electric vehicle's range. Preconditioning your car will help increase efficiency and decrease energy usage. The aim is to maintain a pleasant temperature without consuming too much energy from the battery. This is because you want to conserve energy, and not drain the battery to heat or cool the cabin.

Conditioning not only saves energy but also reduces overall wear and tear on batteries. When your battery functions optimally, it is less stressed.

Here's how to condition your car:

• Cabin preconditioning happens while your car is charging—it should be plugged into the charger. Charge the battery until it is at optimal capacity.

2. Before your journey, pre-condition the air conditioning or heating system according to desired temperatures. Five minutes preconditioning should be sufficient before you embark on your car ride.
3. If you have just finished charging and are looking to start operating your EV immediately, precondition the battery by allowing some cool-down time after initiating charge interval.
4. If you’re at home, you’ll want to use a level 2 charger. Level 1 120V chargers can’t deliver sufficient power to air-condition the cabin while maintaining SoC. If you use a Level 1 (granny) charger, power to heat or cool the cabin will drain the battery, which will affect range.
5. Use the same technology to preheat your EV’s battery before you use a public charger… and you’ll reduce overall charging time.

Here are some other tips to reduce energy usage further and enhance range:

• Park in covered areas at night.
• If possible, use Wi-Fi-enabled timers for activating heating/cooling systems remotely using smartphone applications.
• Ensure that windows and sunroofs remain closed while driving as this causes drag and hinders aerodynamics necessary for optimal performance.

Use Cruise Control: Saves Battery On Flat Roads

The Easy Way to Enhance Battery Life

Take the easy road and let cruise control do the heavy lifting. Your EV battery will thank you for it.

Using cruise control automatically regulates your speed and keeps your car driving at a constant pace. When used on flat terrains your car operates more smoothly and conserves battery power. This method can increase your EV's range and efficiency.

Key points about cruise control:

• Cruise control helps you maintain a constant speed, and saves energy.
• When your car maintains a steady pace, it uses less battery than when you accelerate, slow down or drive erratically.
• Your range can increase by up to 15% as your vehicle works more efficiently.
• Cruise control can reduce the risk of speeding tickets and is a safer and fuel-efficient option during extended journeys.
• On trips other than flat terrains, use this feature whenever possible to increase energy efficiency, where appropriate.

Cruise control can be particularly useful in hilly terrains since electric vehicles use more energy going uphill. But it’s good practice to avoid engaging cruise control on particularly sharp inclines. Doing so you ensure your EV won't overwork itself, and you can conserve battery life.

I was curious to test this feature in my electric car during a three-day road trip. I engaged the cruise control over my three-day road trip and was really impressed with the results. The car used significantly less power. In fact, the power consumption reduced by 20%, which meant we covered many more miles per charge.

Tire Pressure: Proper Inflation Helps Fuel Economy

You may have had that sinking feeling (literally) of driving with a flat tire (car or bike). It almost feels like you’re sitting on a stationary bike!

If you want to conserve fuel and increase your EV's range, it’s essential to maintain optimal tire pressure. Under-inflated tires lead to increased rolling resistance, which reduces your car’s efficiency. An appropriate tire inflation level can enhance driving performance, extend tire lifespan and provide optimum safety on the road.

Keep a regular check on your vehicle's psi ratings and adjust them according to your needs. Even a small difference in tire pressure has an impact efficiency. And over time, even when driving carefully, tires may lose some air pressure. Underinflation that leads to a drop in mileage. Wrong inflation levels not only decrease the range of electric cars but also damage the high-tech motors and batteries.

Many electric cars now automatically monitor the tire pressures and display them on the screens. This makes it so much easier to develop a psi-checking routine habit. You can also use an accurate handheld gauge. Both methods can empower you to keep your EV operating in peak condition and give you peace of mind while cruising down the road!

Driving Style: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

With an EV you can have the thrill of speed and the satisfaction of not stopping for gas.

EV driving is fun. You can experience smooth power delivery which is so different (and addictive) compared to driving an ICE (gas/diesel) car. To maximize EV efficiency, your driving style should be more steady and controlled. But how do you do that? Where possible, you should avoid sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration (slowing) and avoid sudden braking. A smoother driving style (inherent in the fact that you don’t have to work through gears to change speed), reduces friction and the amount of energy required to propel the vehicle forward. Smooth acceleration conserves energy.

You can also take advantage of regenerative braking in your electric car to optimize range and efficiency. While it’s always an energy waster in a gas car to be in slow traffic and traffic jams, EVs can actually enjoy some battery recharging while on the move. The energy required to slow the car down using the motor, can be fed back into the battery. Somehow this is the silver lining on the bane of gas car drivers (to be stuck going nowhere and burning fuel).

Case Study A: EVs use most power at constant cruise-controlled high speeds on the highway. I have, for example, the choice each time I drive the 70 minutes to the neighboring capital city, to take a longer route at a constant 70 mph (110kph) or the route where the final half of the journey is through the city streets. Both ways will deliver me to my destination at the identical time. I used to drive my gas car the longer route to be as fuel-efficient as possible, but with my electric car, I actually conserve my battery charge far better with a little stop-start regenerative driving.

Case Study B: It may not be as bad as you think to be stuck in traffic. When an EV is not moving, the only things the battery is used for are pretty much air conditioning, lights and infotainment (radio, etc). On the contrary, if you’re in a gas car, fuel will be burned every moment the car is on, regardless of whether you’re moving or at a standstill. Your EV can regeneratively brake just about every time you slow down. While the anti-EV propaganda includes stories of EV graveyards on the side of the road, it’s actually far more likely for a petrol car.

Plan your routes, take advantage of regenerative braking systems, and utilize cruise control technology to attain optimum EV driving. Apply these driving techniques in combination with proper tire pressure maintenance and you will significantly improve the range of any electric vehicle.

These days all cars (regardless of type) can keep track of real-time data on energy usage and it’s usually right within sight on your dashboard. This makes it very easy to adjust your driving style when you want or need to. The types of information you can have access to (via your car’s own platform or through apps) include distance travelled, power consumption, battery health and charging station locations (and more).

Topography and Road Conditions

The Impact of Road and Terrain Conditions on EV range

Driving up hills can be an EV driver’s worst friend. Notice I didn’t say, driving up and down hills. The power you need to go up steep inclines can be astounding. Luckily hills are not one way. And generally speaking, what comes up must go down. In other words, if you’re using a lot of battery charge to go up a steep hill, it’s extremely likely you’ll be driving downhill soon.

You can see how the terrain can affect range. You will definitely drain the battery if you ascend a mountain, but you won’t always be going up. There will be whole sections of road where you are driving flat, or descending. There is plenty of opportunity to use regenerative braking and to take your foot off the accelerator.

Some people say that you’ll be best on flat roads with direct routes. Flat roads do use less power than uphill, and if you’re using cruise control or driving very fast, at consistent speed, your State of Charge will reduce.

Electric cars deliver a beautifully smooth driving experience, and with differing topography, your battery use will vary. The two most power-hungry situations which reduce range, are when you drive consistently fast coupled with aggressive acceleration, and if you happen to drive up steep hills for extended periods. The rest of the time, you can expect regular range (if not in extreme heat [above 90F] or cold [below 20F]) and even improved range with healthy bouts of regenerative braking.

Pro Tip: A one-pedal driving technique assists in recuperative braking by extending range during stop-and-go traffic. It requires a little practice but can yield significant gains.