Tips for maximising your range while driving
1. Gently away!
Fast acceleration is fun, but minimising it keeps your energy consumption lower, so adjust your driving style.
2. Watch your speed
In a petrol or diesel car about 50mph is the optimal speed for efficiency (running the engine is so inefficient that you need to be up to that speed until you overcome static losses). In an electric car efficiency vs speed works differently. To an extent, the faster you go, the more energy you consume - the most efficient speed for electric cars is likely <10mph for most BEVs (depending on static consumption like air conditioning, heating and electrical systems) - though clearly we wouldn’t recommend driving that slow!
3. Maximise your re-gen!
Driving an EV can feel like a challenge to see how long you can go without touching the brakes. And that’s how it should be, if you only decelerate using regenerative braking then you are minimising your energy consumption. Make sure you always have regenerative braking on and that you leave enough space for it to slow you down before you need the brake (clearly this is safer too!).
4. Turn off/down climate control and heating - if it’s comfortable to do so!
Turning off, or turning down your climate control or heated seats will reduce your static energy consumption.
5. Choose a route that will minimise your power requirement
This is not always possible! But taking a route that is similarly direct, but will require travelling at lower speed will mean you can go further. Also if you can avoid climbing hills you will improve your range - though clearly you can’t alter the altitude of your destination.
Read the full story and discover more tips on Pod Point's website, here:
How to Optimise the Range of Your Electric Car | Pod Point (pod-point.com)