Driving an electric car in winter – the best tips for you

Icy temperatures are not everyone's cup of tea, and owners of electric cars also struggle with it: the cold affects the performance of their vehicle. Why this is the case and how you can still get the most out of your electric car in winter, you can read in this guide.

Challenges for electric car drivers in winter

How does an electric car behave in winter? First of all, the internal resistance of the battery increases in cold weather. This makes it difficult to retrieve the energy from it. The recovery of braking energy (recuperation) decreases. At the same time, the electric car consumes more power in the cold. The main reasons for this are various heated vehicle parts such as seats or windows as well as the energy required for the light. In contrast to combustion engines, electric cars do not generate any waste heat that could be used for this purpose.

In the end, this reduces the reach – and in some cases drastically. According to various automobile clubs, the range of your electric car is reduced by an average of 10 to 30 percent in winter, but in extreme cases 50 percent can be lost. To ensure that you don't break down halfway with your electric car at minus 20 degrees, we have collected the most important measures to increase the range for you.

Whizzing around in a winter coat, hat and gloves in the driver's seat in the freezing cold? This is not much fun and makes no sense: Wrapped up thickly, you restrict your vision and steering movements, and the belt does not fit properly. But the biggest energy consumer of the e-car in winter is air heating. So you shouldn't necessarily heat up so much that you could whiz through the snow flurry in a T-shirt and shorts.

Here are some additional tips on how to increase the range – and still not freeze:

• Preheat the electric car if it is connected to the charging cable. This way you consume the energy from the grid instead of from the battery. By the way: Many e-cars can be easily preheated via app.
• Combine air heating and seat heating sensibly. The seat and steering wheel heating of your electric car usually work more efficiently than the air heater. Therefore, in winter, rely on the first two components and set the air heating lower.
• Switch the heating to recirculating air: This will heat up the interior of your electric car faster.
• Avoid short journeys with long standing times in between. Every time the car is parked outside, the interior and battery of the electric car cool down and have to be reheated in winter.
• Rely on an electric vehicle with a heat pump. Many manufacturers offer electric cars with heat pumps for heating. If you drive long distances in winter, the investment is worth it.
• Use the savings function. Some electric cars reduce the electricity consumption of the heating system by heating only the driver's seat at the touch of a button. Therefore, choose this option if you are alone in the vehicle.

Important: Safety always comes first – even at minus 20 degrees. It makes no sense to save heating energy if your windows fog up or you jet through the twilight without headlights. So always plan enough energy reserves.

In various forums, there is a rumor that electric cars drain their batteries so quickly in a traffic jam in winter that drivers would have to tremble after a short time. However, a test by the ADAC proves that the heating of your e-car can run for a long time even in winter traffic jams: Even after twelve hours with the parking lights on, active seat heating and mild interior temperature, the batteries were far from empty in severe frost.

Our tip: If you realize early on that a traffic jam will last longer, prepare for the waiting time in the car. For example, by switching the heating to recirculating air and keeping windows and doors closed as far as possible.

In cold weather, it takes longer for the battery of your electric car to be fully charged again - this is especially true in sub-zero temperatures. Especially for fast charging, the battery of your electric car must be at operating temperature. In winter, it is therefore more effective to plug in the charging plug immediately after driving and "recharge your batteries". If you also park your vehicle in the warm garage instead of outside, you have more battery capacity available. Additional advantage: You save yourself the trouble of scratching the windshield the next morning.

Are e-cars winter-proof?

Electric cars are generally suitable for winter, but there are some special features when it comes to their range and battery charge. While the range decreases in winter, the charging time increases. In our guide above, we reveal the best tips to counteract both problems.

How does an electric car heat in winter?

There are different variants here: Normally, the electric car heats via the traction battery. This can be avoided by preheating via the electricity grid or by using a vehicle with a heat pump (more detailed explanation in the next question).

How does heat pump electricity for electric cars work?

The heat pump works in a similar way to a refrigerator – only in reverse. This means that the pump generates three kilowatts of heat output from one kilowatt of electricity, for example. These can then be used for heating.