Help... range issue

[dgpcolorado]

i would assume that if the temperature drops while you are driving you shouldnt get much range loss as the battery gets heated passively by being used and the extra energy consumption comes from the cabin heater? Anyone got any words on this?

While I agree generally with this, keep in mind that cold air is more dense and that increases drag. So, it depends on how much the temperature drops while you are driving. I realize that it usually wouldn't be much on a given trip, so you are right that the cabin heater would likely be the biggest factor in reduced range.

I'd also like to point out that using the AC in hot weather can lead to a big range hit when the AC is running full blast to cool the motor and battery as well as the cabin (which is common when driving at highway speeds in the desert, especially uphill). One way to get a "snapshot" of how much power the AC or heater is using is to shift to neutral. You can read the power being used on the meter in the Instrument Cluster; it is usually near zero in neutral when the AC or heater aren't running. I've seen readings in the 5-7 kW range for AC when driving in the desert, which is a big range hit and explained why my energy graph kept falling below the initial projection. I would guess that it is not something one faces in the UK (or Canada for the OP)...

 

[Candleflame]

I was wearing a shirt and no jacket today. 15°

 

[dgpcolorado]

I was wearing a shirt and no jacket today. 15°

And here at 2340 m elevation it was a balmy 19.5ºC. I took advantage of the lovely weather to make the long bicycle ride down to town and back.

But snow is predicted for Thursday, albeit not much.

 

[Candleflame]

And here at 2340 m elevation it was a balmy 19.5ºC. I took advantage of the lovely weather to make the long bicycle ride down to town and back.

But snow is predicted for Thursday, albeit not much.

you can't even compare that. Colorado is in the south of spain if it were in europe. I'm in the UK, which is just south of the Bering sea or in British columbia if it were in america. xD

 

[dgpcolorado]

you can't even compare that. Colorado is in the south of spain if it were in europe. I'm in the UK, which is just south of the Bering sea or in British columbia if it were in america. xD

True, but it is also rather high altitude here — a thousand meters higher than the highest point in the UK — and very far away from the influence of the oceans (the interior of the continent gets much more temperature variation than coastal areas). It is usually much colder here in mid November and the weather has been unseasonably warm the last six weeks; the usual late summer/early fall leaf change was several weeks late here.