Do You Need to Warm Up Your EV in Winter?
With the temperatures dropping and snow on its way, you might be considering how cold weather and icy conditions can affect your vehicle’s operation. New electric vehicle owners should also be aware of how to take care while driving your EV in snow. You also might be wondering how cold weather will affect your EV’s battery or range. At Smith Chevy Hammond, we’re here to help you with all of your winter driving EV needs. Visit us for winter driving safety tips today!
Get in the Habit of Warming Up Your EV
It is a good idea to get in the habit of warming up your EV during the winter months. First, warming up your EV makes it warmer and more comfortable for you to drive when frigid temperatures make leaving your house miserable. In terms of power, warming up your EV before your drive will preserve your vehicle’s battery range, which is especially important for avoiding getting stranded on a highway during wintry conditions. It’s a good idea to keep your EV plugged in when you’re warming it up so that the heating process is using the grid power and not your battery life.
Cold Weather and Your EV’s Range
It’s understandable that you might be concerned with how low temperatures might affect your electric vehicle’s range. Put simply, electric vehicles are not especially susceptible to power loss during winter—they are mostly affected by cold weather the same as a gas-powered vehicle. Generally, engines take even longer than usual to warm up in cold weather because the low temperature makes it difficult to generate and circulate warm air. The extra time required to warm up your vehicle results in less time spent at the optimal temperature for fuel efficiency.
This means that your engine is working harder than normal to power your vehicle, using more gas than normal. As a result, your vehicle’s efficiency will probably decrease—whether it’s an electric vehicle or gas engine. For this reason, we recommend that when driving in the winter, you should prioritize range and always be cognizant of your charge level.
Warm Up Your EV with Chevy Remote Start
Chevrolet’s goal is to make your life easy and convenient. That’s why all new Chevrolet models have available remote start, accessible on your vehicle’s key fob and through the MyChevrolet app. Using impressive Chevy technology, the remote start function warms or cools your vehicle’s cabin before entry so it’s comfortable when you get in, allows you to warm up your vehicle’s engine, and integrates with your vehicle’s anti-theft system.
Chevy Remote Start is especially useful during winter driving with cold temperatures and icy conditions. It’s smart, simple, and seamless. The MyChevrolet app uses Chevy technology and is designed to connect you to your vehicle at any time anywhere, available now on the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Visit Smith Hammond!
Looking for Chevy dealers in Northwest Indiana? Visit Smith Chevrolet today for all your needs, whether you’re looking for a new or used car, need to schedule service with our Smith Chevy Parts department, or want to trade-in your vehicle today! At Smith Motors, our unmatched service and diverse Chevrolet inventory have set us apart as the preferred dealer of Hammond residents. Visit us today to learn more about best practices for driving electric vehicles in winter!
