Why do I get less range in colder weather?

You may notice that although your car is fully charged, the range is significantly reduced in the winter months. The colder weather has a lot more to do with this than you may think…

Why do I get less range in colder weather?

Most EV batteries are made from lithium-ion. In colder weather conditions, the chemical reactions in battery cells are slowed down.  This results in the battery draining more quickly and producing less energy than it would in warmer weather. If it’s cold out, it’s a good idea to keep an eye on the battery percentage rather than the range as this can fluctuate quite dramatically. Some manufacturers warn that you may notice up to a 20% loss in range in the colder months. You’re also more likely to be heating up your cabin in the colder weather, which can considerably drain your battery.

Why does Ohme report a higher range than my EV?

We’re not yet integrated with all car manufacturers, so we don’t have access to every car’s state of charge. If you have a car with which we’re not yet integrated, you may notice that Ohme reports a higher range than your car does. That’s because Ohme will be using the specs we have for your car in the database, which may differ slightly from the range your car actually has that day. You can see detailed tech specs such as ‘mild weather’ and ‘cold weather’ range in the ‘Manage my EV’ section of the Ohme app.

What can I do about it?

Pre-heating or pre-conditioning your car before you set off really helps to get the most out of your battery in the colder months. You can enable pre-conditioning in your car or car app. As its name suggests, pre-conditioning is a process by which you can heat or cool the interior of your electric car and optimise the temperature of the batteries too.

To ensure your car isn’t wasting valuable energy on this, you can enable Ohme’s pre-conditioning support feature in the Ohme app. With this feature enabled, Ohme will deliver power to your EV for between 5-60 minutes at the end of your charge session. For pre-conditioning to work, you may need to set manual controls via your car or car app.

How does Ohme’s pre-conditioning feature affect my price cap?

If you have a price cap enabled, Ohme will charge as usual within the cheap window and still deliver power for the last 5-60 minutes of your charge session to allow pre-conditioning to take place. Please note, this will mean your charge sessions may be a little more expensive than usual as some charging is taking place at the more expensive rate.

Enable pre-conditioning

You’ll see the toggle to enable pre-conditioning and slider to adjust the time when editing your Charge Schedule.