The heavier your vehicle, the more battery you will need, and the heavier it will be...
Range anxiety is probably the greatest barrier preventing fleets from going electric. This is particularly prominent when considering long-distance travel along stretches of road where electric vehicle (EV) charging points might be few and far between.
Different factors affect the range of an electric vehicle: vehicle weight, flat vs. mountainous roads, and temperature combined with in-vehicle climate control. AAA tested the range effects of 20F degree weather on several popular EVs and found that temperature alone could reduce range by 10-12%, while the use of in-vehicle climate control could amplify range loss to 40%.
Nothing new! All these parameters affect Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles too.
Now, here are a few tips when determining the ideal range for your electric conversion
- It's packed! The battery pack requires a lot of storage space. The room available for batteries in your vehicle determines its maximum battery capacity. Towing a trailer full of batteries is really not a good option.
- Chicken and egg! The choice of the battery pack comes along with the choice of the motor (minimum/nominal/maximum voltage). It's an iterative process; we hope you are good at Excel.
x-axis: battery pack size (kWh) y-axis: range (miles) |
- Size matters! Each wheel rotation gives you a certain range; the bigger the diameter of the wheels, the further you'll go. Conversely, a wider tire will add more resistance reducing range.
- Give me the money! The battery is the most expensive part of the conversion; the more range desired, the higher the initial cost.
- The 10% Rule. Richard from EV4U recommends the 10% rule: by dividing the curb weight of your vehicle by 10 you will roughly get the number of Wh/mile it needs. For example, if my car weighs 2,800 Lbs (for the purpose of the example, the vehicle weighs the same before and after the conversion), it needs 280Wh per mile. A battery pack of 28kWh should yield a maximum range of 100 miles.
These few tips should help you but there is a good chance, at this point in time, you won't drive to visit your grandma in Arkansas when you live in San Francisco.
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