What is Range Anxiety?
Range anxiety is the fear that your battery will not have enough range to reach your destination or your next charging stop. It is similar to running out of fuel in a gas car, with the main difference being the infrastructure of each energy source—it is much easier to fill up at a gas station than an EV charger.
Background
Factors Affecting Electric Vehicle Range
Tips to Reduce Range Anxiety
Background
Early battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were small, efficient hatchbacks with small batteries delivering limited ranges. The first mass-market EV, the Nissan Leaf, could only drive up to 100 miles on a single charge. Combined with limited public charging infrastructure, these EVs earned a reputation for being great city vehicles that were rather useless on the open road. As EV battery and powertrain technology has evolved, real-world driving ranges have dramatically improved.
The average EV now offers around 300 miles of driving range, with some premium models offering up to 500 miles. Long-distance road trips to visit the family are now a very real possibility with an EV. Consumers now have a variety of options, from small, efficient city runabouts to large, heavy-duty pickup trucks. Range anxiety now is much less of a concern and is turning into charge anxiety as EV adoption increases.
Electric car charging is a simple process. Public charging stations are readily available across the country on the popular routes regularly used on long trips. As EVs gain popularity, the issue now is charger availability - will you be able to charge when you pull up to the next fast charging station? As providers continue building new stations, maintaining the existing charging network can be a challenge. It is not uncommon to come across chargers that are out of order.
Factors Affecting Electric Vehicle Range
Batteries: Batteries are the biggest factor determining driving range. Generally speaking, the bigger the battery, the bigger the range. Electric car batteries are measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh); bigger numbers mean a bigger capacity and more driving range.
Most sedans are equipped with 60 to 80 kWh battery packs, while trucks and SUVs start around 100 kWh. GM’s new line of electric trucks and SUVs have an absolutely massive 200-kWh battery pack.
Aerodynamics is also an important factor in vehicle efficiency; a slippery sedan will always be more efficient than a boxy truck or SUV. For example, a Tesla Model S can deliver about 400 miles of range from a 100-kWh battery pack, while a Rivian R1T, with a similar battery capacity, can only deliver 270 miles of range.
Driving Style: How you drive an EV also has an impact on range. All modern EVs utilize regenerative braking systems, which allow the vehicle to harvest energy and send it back to the battery when you are decelerating. These systems make EVs highly efficient in city driving when you’re accelerating and decelerating often. On long descents, you can watch your battery state of charge increase.
Like in a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE), highway driving at a higher speed is less efficient. Higher speeds result in more aerodynamic drag, requiring more power to overcome. The good news is electric motors are incredibly powerful and do not use multi speed transmissions. These single speed transmissions do limit top speeds and efficiency at higher speeds. High-speed driving also requires a constant throttle, limiting the use of regenerative braking.
What’s the Weather? Weather conditions can also impact driving range, especially cold weather. Once temperatures drop, you need to use energy to heat up the cabin and the battery. Unlike an ICE vehicle, an EV does not have an engine to use as a heat source, it has a separate heat pump that is powered by the battery. Some drivers report 30% losses in range as the temperatures dip below freezing. In hot temperatures, cabins and batteries also require cooling, which also uses additional energy, similar to running air conditioning.
One way to avoid some of these losses is by using the pre-conditioning systems built into the car. In most EVs, you can pre-set departure times using an app on your phone; the car will heat or cool the cabin while it’s still plugged in and using your home’s electricity. This saves your car the trouble of draining its battery for climate control while you’re driving.
What’s more, many EVs (and even some hybrids) also have eco HVAC settings that focus on the driver only. If you’re alone in the car, no need to heat or cool the entire cabin!
Tips to Reduce Range Anxiety
- Optimizing driving habits for better range
- Utilizing charging infrastructure effectively
- Using range estimation tools and apps
Better Habits = More Range: There are a few ways to maximize your driving range, so some new EV drivers may need to adjust their driving styles. Smooth inputs on the ‘gas’ pedal, gentle acceleration, and maximizing regenerative braking will give you the biggest range. While it’s easy (and fun) to access the power and torque of an electric motor, just remember that doing so will eat into your driving range. On the highway, stick to the speed limits. Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed, requiring more power and reducing your range.
Smart Charging: Next is understanding where and how to charge your car. Road-tripping an EV can be daunting, but it is quite simple these days. EV charging infrastructure is regularly improving, it is easy to find a charger along popular routes and in town centers across America. Our main tip is to plan your journey ahead and jump from fast charger to fast charger until you reach your destination.
Apps like ‘A Better Route Planner’ (ABRP) and PlugShare are incredible tools to help EV owners with range anxiety. You enter your destination and your desired state of charge upon arrival, and these apps will give you a route complete with charging stops.
Apps like PlugShare are useful when looking for charging stations in your area. Any charging point, from 120-volt outlets to Tesla Superchargers, is listed on the app with user reviews. PlugShare is a valuable tool to find issues with chargers reported by users.
Don’t let EV range anxiety stop you from driving an EV. Today’s EVs offer big ranges that easily cover the 35 miles the average American drives in a day. Add in an expanding charging infrastructure, and an EV will get you wherever you need to go. It has never been easier to own and charge an EV!