As a brutal cold snap grips Chicago, electric vehicle (EV) owners are coming face to face with the harsh reality of diminished battery life and the elongated struggle of keeping their rides charged. Lines stretch for hours at local charging stations, mirroring a descent in temperatures that has people shivering and cars stalling.
Long waits have become a new norm for EV drivers in the Windy City, as subzero temperatures wreak havoc on their vehicle's battery efficiency. At a Skokie charging station brimming with Tesla Superchargers, stalls remained filled throughout Monday, leaving drivers like Wes France to contend with battery levels precipitously dropping as they hunted for an open spot. "I saw my battery was getting low 20 to 25%. Went to the gas station there was a long line," France told WGN-TV. After an exhausting search, France's car battery waned to a stark 5%, propelling him toward the unfavorable last resort of towing his Tesla to a charger.
Studies have put numbers to the anecdotes. The Norwegian Automobile Federation reports about a 20% loss in EV driving range due to cold, with the AAA suggesting that figure can skyrocket above 40% if heaters are employed to combat the chill. While individual models like the Tesla Model S show resilience, losing a mere 4% under freezing, others have not fared as well. The Chevy Bolt, for example, sacrifices about a third of its range when the temperature plummets. Patrick Olsen, Editor in Chief of Carfax.com, emphasized the importance of in-home chargers and planning, urging drivers to "know where your level two and three chargers are so you can get there," as per his statement obtained by NBC Chicago.
The constraints of cold on EVs do not merely pertain to range anxiety, but extend, to the practicality and rigor of daily life. Darryl Johnson, an Uber driver, vented about his ordeals, telling WGN-TV, "It's horrible, it takes two hours the wait an hour it takes two hours to charge, then the charge leaves really quickly, so now you’re back at the charger twice a day." The EV population in Illinois has swelled from about 12,000 five years ago to over 90,000, indicating that these winter woes might reach an ever-expanding demographic.
Reprieve might lie in EV owners taking measures into their own hands. Eddie Zipperstein, owner of a certified Tesla service center, suggested precautionary steps for Tesla owners to minimize the toll of the cold. "If you can park in a garage it's better to keep the car warm. It makes a huge difference when you're going to charge, let the navigation know you're going to a charger so the car can pre-condition the battery to accept a charge a lot faster that way," he advised in an interview with WGN-TV.
