First cold weather in my trophy and 25% reduction in range

[Steve class of 69]

Picked up my mg4 trophy in April 23 and have been able to achieve 4 miles per kW hour without even trying.
So I am amazed how hard I have to try to get 3 miles per kW hour now its hovering around 0

Obviously cold weather is not a friend of my lovely EV

 

[fnegroni]

Heater and battery heating if you have that enabled will use quite a lot of kWh in the initial part of a journey if starting from cold.
Parking in a garage or preheating while plugged into the charger will help

 

[Steve class of 69]

Plugged in with battery heating on
Don't have a garage
So what I'm thinking is it doesn't like the cold
Just wasn't expecting such a dramatic effect on range

 

[fnegroni]

Plugged in with battery heating on
Don't have a garage
So what I'm thinking is it doesn't like the cold
Just wasn't expecting such a dramatic effect on range

It’s not the cold per se. It’s the fact the car is cold and you are using the heaters to warm it up.
As posted in another thread, I sometimes park in a heated garage and fuel consumption even at 0°C is perfectly fine and affected very little, even doing motorway journeys.

 

[JonnyG]

My rule of thumb after three years with a Zoe was 33% loss of range in cold Winter weather. In my Zoe case this equated to a 180 miles range in the Summer becoming 120 miles in Winter (each of two Winters).

 

[Coulomb]

It’s not the cold per se. It’s the fact the car is cold and you are using the heaters to warm it up.

My impression is that there is a decent contribution from the battery not "unlocking" energy in the battery that would be available if the battery temperature was higher. I believe that this effect is higher for LFP batteries than ternary batteries, especially at temperatures at or below 0°C. You are not even supposed to charge an LFP battery below 0°C.

So in winter there are the two effects contributing to lower range: locked away energy, and higher energy use due to heater use.

 

[tsedge]

Typical winter range loss is 30%, for all EVs. Unfortunately it isn't well enough publicised.

Preheating the battery and car while plugged in and charging will help.

 

[fnegroni]

My impression is that there is a decent contribution from the battery not "unlocking" energy in the battery that would be available if the battery temperature was higher. I believe that this effect is higher for LFP batteries than ternary batteries, especially at temperatures at or below 0°C. You are not even supposed to charge an LFP battery below 0°C.

So in winter there are the two effects contributing to lower range: locked away energy, and higher energy use due to heater use.

Due note that when charging using a granny charger, outside in the cold at -2C, as the battery approaches the final 5%, my SE SR switches on the battery heater and pump.
And since I’m on a granny charger, it takes ages for the last 5% to complete.
When I park in a heated garage, the energy consumption and power are in line with milder conditions: see my post couple days ago
Thread 'Benefit of heated battery and heated garage'
Benefit of heated battery and heated garage

 

[Steve class of 69]

I'm afraid there is no escape from the 2nd law of thermodynamics
Always travels down the temperature gradient, from hot to cold.

 

[PeterD]

Experienced the same. One of those that I'm just getting used to now, my mpk taking a really big dip. Managed to keep 4.2 till the start of winter, no I'm lucky to get 2.3... Meh, nevermind.

 

[nbenn]

I've really seen a reduction in efficiency since the cold kicked in. I'm not sure it's all heating losses. I've driven the car in the morning with me in it only and no heating just to see. Was still getting much reduced efficiency in my LFP MG4. Temp alone seems to really reduce efficiency/range.

 

[fnegroni]

I've really seen a reduction in efficiency since the cold kicked in. I'm not sure it's all heating losses. I've driven the car in the morning with me in it only and no heating just to see. Was still getting much reduced efficiency in my LFP MG4. Temp alone seems to really reduce efficiency/range.

Battery temp you mean.

 

[nbenn]

Battery temp you mean.

The effect of low temperatures outside seems to reduce efficiency quite a bit (even without the use of heating within the car)

 

[fnegroni]

The effect of low temperatures outside seems to reduce efficiency quite a bit (even without the use of heating within the car)

Do you have intelligent battery heating enabled?
Do you preheat the battery and the cabin from the wall charger?
Because my experience points at battery and cabin heat levels, not motor efficiency.
At most in cold weather the atmosphere is more dense so you will get higher consumption at high speeds as EVs are more sensitive to aerodynamics
How about preheating the battery and cabin before you set off using the wall charger? And then you can even keep the intelligent battery heating on which will ensure maximum recuperation.

 

[nbenn]

Don't use intelligent battery heating while driving. It makes the car less efficient in my use (I don't preheat while plugged in). I'm sure the the things your saying will increase efficiency but these require some level of maintenance which I don't think is worth it. As far as I can tell, you're shifting the energy to be used before driving rather than when driving. Either way your going use about the same energy. It's just not shown on the efficiency of the car. I'd prefer just to charge a little more often than have to do preheating etc which requires some forethought to manage.