THE CENTRAL QUESTION ...
I'm worried that if I buy an EV my battery will run out, and I'll be stranded. Is that a reasonable concern or am I over-reacting?
COURSE ABSTRACT
A discussion of range and range anxiety with an emphasis on the issues that must be considered to determine whether range might be an issue for you. To obtain a copy of the EVU study guide for this and other available EVU courses, please complete the form on this page.
Course level: Intermediate
2. 2
Range Anxiety
EV-202
This course is presented as part of
Evannex University—a free, open
learning environment that presents
concise, video-based mini-courses for
those who have interest in electric
vehicles (EVs) …
3. Range Anxiety
The sometimes irrational fear that you’ll
run out of charge and your EV will come to
a dead stop.
The big questions are these:
Is range anxiety something that haunts every
EV driver?
Is it something to get wound up about?
Is it something that should dissuade you from
buying an EV?
The answers lie not in emotion, but in a
few salient facts
4. What is Range?
Range is the distance you
can travel when the EV
battery is fully charged.
Range is a function of:
Battery capacity
A specific set of vehicle
parameters
A specific set of driving
conditions
0
75
150
225
300
Category 1
PHEV-1
PHEV-2
CityCar EV
Model S/60
Model S/85
5. Range Anxiety—Another Look
Why the anxiety?
Because there’s no place to charge! Right?
There are over 30,000 public charging
locations in the U.S.
Over 200 Tesla “superchargers” enable
long range travel
Smartphone apps (e.g., Chargepoint,
Plugshare, Recargo) help
You charge your EV at home, every
night.
6. Drivers in the U.S
• Consider a few facts:
• About 65 percent of American
workers commute no more than 50
miles round trip each day.
• Within the range of most BEVs
• Only 8 percent have really long
commutes of 120 miles round trip
or more.
6
7. Driving Patterns—Averages
200 million drivers
Assume 60% drive to work
65 percent drive < 50
miles round trip
Guestimate: 78 million
commuters can buy an EV
and not worry about range
anxiety
0.
4.
8.
12.
16.
<10 10 to
14
15 to
19
20 to
24
25 to
29
30 to
34
35 to
44
45 to
59
>60
Average Commute
percent
8. Your Driving Patterns
How long is your daily commute along with
daily errands?
How far do you drive for entertainment
purposes?
How far away is your extended family and
how often do you visit?
Do your take long road trips (vacation,
family visits, etc.)
Do you have a 2nd ICE vehicle or a PHEV?
9. On-the-Road Charging
Available options are growing
quickly
public J1772 chargers
Superchargers, if you’re a Tesla
Model S owner
Charging at your destination
family
work
hotel
9
10. Charging at Home
Day-in, day-out, you
charge your EV at home, in
your garage, overnight
It’s “full” every morning
A fact that’s often lost in
discussions of range
anxiety
11. Range Anxiety—Another Look
Sure, range is an issue
But it’s not something that
should cause anxiety
In fact, it’s a non-issue most
of the time and can be
managed
12. 12
… a free study guide for
all EVU mini-courses is
available for download
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visit: www.evannex.com
Notes de l'éditeur
I’d like to repeat something I said in the EVU mini-course on Range.
Every car has finite supply of onboard fuel, and therefore, every car has limited range.
But because gas stations are everywhere, there’s no worry when the fuel gage of an ICE vehicle approaches E.
Unless, of course, you’re on a desolate road far from civilization, and your fuel gage shows empty.
“Where’s the next gas station”, you ask yourself nervously, “Can I get to there before I run out of fuel?”
The emotion you feel in situations like that is called “range anxiety.”
>>For EVs, it’s the sometimes irrational fear that you’ll run out of charge, and your EV will come to a dead stop.
>> The big questions are these:
>> Is range anxiety something that haunts every EV driver?
>> Is it something to get wound up about?
>> Is it something that should dissuade you from buying an EV?
>> These questions can be answered dispassionately based on facts that look at average driving patterns and information about your specific driving profile.
But first, a quick review of the concept we call “range”
In a earlier mini course, we discussed the factors that affect range of an EV.
Repeating just one slide from that course, let’s be sure you understand range and the things that affect it.
>> Range is the distance you can travel when the EV battery is fully charged.
>> Range is a function of:
>> battery capacity (measured in kWh)
>> A specific set of vehicle parameters and their affect on aerodynamic drag
>> A specific set of driving conditions, for example, wind direction and velocity, and driving terrain.
But let’s get back to range anxiety itself.
>> Why the anxiety?
>> Because there’s no place to charge! Right?
Wrong!
Here are a few facts to dispel that notion.
>> There are over 30,000 public charging locations in the U.S. In parking garages, shopping malls, RV parks, entertainment locations, hotels, and many other venues. In fact … you can plug-in anywhere there’s an electric outlet you have permission to use.
>> If you’re a Tesla Model S owner, Tesla Motors has over 200 “Superchargers” along interstates, providing Model S owners with free charging on long trips. New ones are being added monthly.
For example, you can drive from Miami to New York, San Francisco to Los Angeles , and even more impressive, cross-country from LosAngeles to New York in a Model S using superchargers to fuel your trip, and do it at no cost!
>> There are smartphone apps such as Chargepoint, Plugshare, or Recargo that will find the nearest EV charging location, no matter where you are.
>> And remember, you charge your EV at home, every night. You wake up and your car is “full” every single day.
>> To understand why range anxiety is certainly not as big a deal as some make it out to be, consider a few additional facts.
>> About 65 percent of American workers commute no more than 50 miles round trip each day.
>> That’s within the range of a Nissan Leaf, and laughably easy for a Tesla Model S, both BEVs.
>> Only 8 percent have a really long commute of >120 miles, round trip.
Given these data, let’s do some extrapolation.
>> There are about 200 million drivers in the US. Most have jobs, but many are retired or don’t work.
>> Let assume that 60 percent are employed and commute daily to work.
>> 65% of those commuters have a drive that is less than 50 miles.
>> Eliminating the others, that still leaves around 78 million commuters, not to mention millions of retired people, who could buy an EV and not worry about range anxiety for their daily driving
But there’s a bit more to it.
Your overall driving patterns also matter. Consider these questions:
>> How long is your daily commute along with daily errands?
If your commute is only a small part of the miles you drive each day, you need more range.
>> How far do you drive for entertainment purposes?
If a weekly round trip to cabin in the woods is 250 miles, you’ll need a place to charge your BEV at the cabin and possibly, along the way.
>> How far away is your extended family and how often do you visit?
If grandma’s house is 90 miles away, you’ll have to be sure that your EV has appropriate range to get you there and that grandma has a place for you to charge your car once you arrive.
>> Do you take long road trips (vacation, family visits, etc.) on routes that don’t use the interstate highways system?
If you’re a family that regularly takes 200+ mile road trips, a PHEV or a Tesla Model S may be your only options in the short term.
>> Do you have a 2nd ICE vehicle or a PHEV available for long trips
If the answer is ‘yes,’ a limited range BEV for commuting is all you’ll need.
But long trips are becoming increasingly manageable with a BEV
>> the number of available charging options is growing quickly
>> public J1172 chargers can provide a partial recharge in a few hours
>> Superchargers, if you’re a Tesla Model S owner, provide 150 - 170 miles of range in 20 minutes, for free!
>> and of course, you can charge at your destination
>> your relative’s’s house in another city or state
>> your place of work
>> or, at an increasing number of hotels
to name just a few options
And of course, the big one ….
>> One of the major benefits of BEVs is you refuel them at home, overnight, while you’re sleeping,
>> so that your EV is “full” every morning.
Unless you travel long distances on a regular basis, you will rarely need a recharging source away from home.
>> That’s huge, and often get’s lost in discussions of “range anxiety” that always seems to invade the thinking of those who don’t own a BEV.
In fact, if you think about it for just a moment, it’s odd that so many people remain tied to a 20th century fueling station paradigm when a viable, cost effective alternative exists
>> Sure, range is an issue …
>> But it’s not something that should cause anxiety.
>> In fact, it’s a non-issue most of the time and can be managed in the instances when your BEV doesn’t have the range you need for a long trip.
So … be calm … and carry on.