The problem with EV range figures

[siry]

I just write this blog and it is already generating some interesting discussion - please join the fun.

Darryl Siry's Blog: The Problem with EV Range Figures

 

[efusco]

I'm just thrilled that enough people are interested in EVs that this is an issue we need to start worrying about. It was hybrids that forced the EPA to update their process of determining fuel economy and finally stop using such terribly outdated protocols that didn't fit anyone's real-world driving.

 

[graham]

A new siry article:

Greentech Media

I see a troubling pattern emerging in how the most critical aspect of EVs – range – is discussed by companies and the media alike. These are problems that could have a significant negative effect on the way the public responds to electric vehicles if manufacturers don’t change the way they communicate expectations about range.

The basic problem is that when an EV is described, it usually has a single “range” number associated with it. For example, the Tesla Roadster has a range of 244 miles. When people talk about the range of a car that is planned in the future, they also offer a single number. For example, the media has reported that several car companies plan to come to market with EVs that have “100 mile range.”

Every time a single range figure is given, it should have about three asterisks next to it.

 

[graham]

siry has already posted this himself on this forum.

Ah! So he did! Sorry everybody...

 

[vfx]

E.P.A. Says M.P.G. for Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids Is a Work in Progress

E.P.A. Says M.P.G. for Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids Is a Work in Progress - Wheels Blog - NYTimes.com

The E.P.A.’s letter was in response to a Sept. 10 proposal from Israel’s ETV Motors, which is working on battery technology as well as a hybrid concept that uses a micro-turbine to replenish an E.V.’s batteries....

ETV proposed that consumers be given three pieces of information: the E.V.’s all-electric range, its energy efficiency in electric mode (expressed in miles a 10 kilowatt-hours) and, for plug-in hybrids, its fuel efficiency when the internal-combustion engine kicks in.

 

[Tdave]

So for the Roadster:

244 miles
46 mp10kWh

Hmm, 46 doesn't sound too good, A plug in hybrid will get over 50 mpg when the engine is running. 50 is better than 46. I'll get one one of those.