Big Nige
Standard Member
Ok, we've all seen clickbait titles like this one in the usual daily rags. Those of us in the EV community know that if you are stuck on the motorway in traffic &/or cold weather, your car will NOT DIE in 5 mins leaving you to freeze to death. This week, sadly, I had the opportunity to test this. I thought I would share the experience with the community, especially for newcomers to the EV world who may have read such headlines and been worried.
I live on Anglesey, North Wales and my daily commute to Bangor is around 18 miles/ 25minutes. Early hours Thurs morning there was a traffic accident involving 2 lorries and 2 cars, closing Britannia Bridge completely ( the main A55 link to the mainland). Sadly one local person died in the crash and another was seriously injured.
I set out at my usual 7:30 am temp about 1degC at home battery around 96%. I hit the traffic jam at around 7:45 and remained in that until 11:45. It wasn't until an hour later I thought about recording the data so the following starts at 8:52.
Basic info:-
Car- MG5 LR
Configuration- in Normal with no eco settings, heating set at 20 degC Auto at all times.
Weather- Clear & dry temp remained at 3 degC for the rest of the day
8:52- 92%, 3dC
Traction Battery drawing typically 1-2 amps (mostly drawing 1 amp, but occasionally flickering 2/3a)
Status of Heating etc- just left it set at this the whole time stationary. Air was set to recirc mainly due to the old diesel Audi in front of me appearing to have been converted to coal burning- lovely plumes of blue/black smoke spewing out for everyone to enjoy!
10:16- Finally dropped 1%
10:55 burning through the battery! now at 90% (did move a third of a mile as well)
11:43 Another hour and we're at 89% and 4/10 of a mile further on. At this point they had opened the eastbound lane and we started to move.
Things learned from this?
If we assume a 1% loss per hour then I could have about 70 hours cozy sitting and still have around 20% / 30 ish miles to get me somewhere. Obviously if the weather was sub zero these figures would reduce. The point is, once the car is warm, it takes less energy to maintain a comfortable temp than keep heating and cooling.
Ironically, when I got to work at mid day, a collegue was talking to his daughter on the phone. She was still stuck in the traffic coming from Caernarfon in an ICE car. Her problem? Even though she was only a few miles from a petrol station she was worried she would have enough fuel to make it there and so was sat freezing with the engine off. Should get an EV- far more reliable!
One final note after sitting in the MG5 for near enough 8 hours (it took me 3 1/4 hours to get home via Bangor & Menai Bridge in the afternoon !)- I find it REALLY comfortable!
I live on Anglesey, North Wales and my daily commute to Bangor is around 18 miles/ 25minutes. Early hours Thurs morning there was a traffic accident involving 2 lorries and 2 cars, closing Britannia Bridge completely ( the main A55 link to the mainland). Sadly one local person died in the crash and another was seriously injured.
I set out at my usual 7:30 am temp about 1degC at home battery around 96%. I hit the traffic jam at around 7:45 and remained in that until 11:45. It wasn't until an hour later I thought about recording the data so the following starts at 8:52.
Basic info:-
Car- MG5 LR
Configuration- in Normal with no eco settings, heating set at 20 degC Auto at all times.
Weather- Clear & dry temp remained at 3 degC for the rest of the day
8:52- 92%, 3dC
Traction Battery drawing typically 1-2 amps (mostly drawing 1 amp, but occasionally flickering 2/3a)
Status of Heating etc- just left it set at this the whole time stationary. Air was set to recirc mainly due to the old diesel Audi in front of me appearing to have been converted to coal burning- lovely plumes of blue/black smoke spewing out for everyone to enjoy!
10:16- Finally dropped 1%
10:55 burning through the battery! now at 90% (did move a third of a mile as well)
11:43 Another hour and we're at 89% and 4/10 of a mile further on. At this point they had opened the eastbound lane and we started to move.
Things learned from this?
If we assume a 1% loss per hour then I could have about 70 hours cozy sitting and still have around 20% / 30 ish miles to get me somewhere. Obviously if the weather was sub zero these figures would reduce. The point is, once the car is warm, it takes less energy to maintain a comfortable temp than keep heating and cooling.
Ironically, when I got to work at mid day, a collegue was talking to his daughter on the phone. She was still stuck in the traffic coming from Caernarfon in an ICE car. Her problem? Even though she was only a few miles from a petrol station she was worried she would have enough fuel to make it there and so was sat freezing with the engine off. Should get an EV- far more reliable!
One final note after sitting in the MG5 for near enough 8 hours (it took me 3 1/4 hours to get home via Bangor & Menai Bridge in the afternoon !)- I find it REALLY comfortable!