With summer around the corner, EV drivers across America will soon be taking to the roads in droves to head out on warm weather road trips. Taking a road trip in an electric car can be a much superior experience to a gas car\u2014if you know what steps to take. Whether it\u2019s a day trip out to a scenic location or a full on cross-country trek, here are a few tips and tricks for your EV road trip.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start by pointing out that nobody wants to drive hundreds of miles uncomfortably, but with electric cars there are ways to minimize your cabin energy usage while maintaining your level of comfort. If you\u2019re driving in a cold climate, try to use seat heaters and steering wheel heaters, if you have them, rather than the cabin heater. Heating the whole cabin requires more energy to run the heat pump, which could cause some range loss. If you\u2019re hitting the road in a hotter climate, first try using only the fan. If that won\u2019t keep you cool enough, most EVs have an \u201ceco\u201d climate mode that will run the air conditioner at a lower power setting, saving a bit of energy while keeping the cabin cool. Now, if you\u2019re driving through the Nevada desert and really need the full power of modern air conditioning, definitely do use it! Note that it is more efficient to use your air conditioner than it is to roll down the windows. Driving with the windows down creates more drag on the vehicle and reduces range. It\u2019s best to stay as aerodynamic as possible.<\/p>\n
Taking a road trip in an EV is a bit like flying an airplane\u2014it requires a little planning to be successful. When planning your charging route, make sure you have backup plans in case chargers are full of cars or out of order. Check out your route on PlugShare.com first and see where the available chargers are. Make sure that the fast chargers will work with your EV\u2014if you have a Chevy Bolt, don\u2019t count on using a CHAdeMO fast charger to keep you in the game; likewise, Nissan LEAF drivers won\u2019t be able to use CCS fast chargers. Try to pick charging stations that aren\u2019t too far off your route of march, and look to use fast chargers as much as possible; don\u2019t worry, they won\u2019t hurt your battery if you\u2019re just using it on a road trip. Also, be sure to make sure the charging stations are in working order; PlugShare makes this easy to do with its \u201ccheck in\u201d function that allows drivers to report when charging stations are working or out of order. For the most part, EV charging stations are very reliable and robust pieces of equipment, and major charging companies regularly service downed chargers, quickly returning them to operational status. Locations with more charging stations provide better redundancy and can mitigate the chances of being stuck without a working charger.<\/p>\n
If your road trip is a multi-day adventure and you plan to stay overnight at hotels\/motels, look for accommodations with EV charging, using resources like PlugShare<\/a> or ChargeHotels<\/a>, or call your hotel and see if they offer overnight charging to guests. If the hotel has Level 2 240-volt chargers or spaces with 120-volt plugs nearby, ask if you can reserve the spaces for the night. Even if they don\u2019t have designed Level 2 charging stations, a simple 120-volt outlet is good enough to get a useful charge in 8-12 hours. If they don\u2019t have either, kindly suggest that they offer it as a service to EV guests; if you knew that a certain hotel or motel offered charging, wouldn\u2019t you be more likely to stay there? For long road trips, charging overnight can greatly speed up your rate of travel, especially so if you can use a Level 2 charger and have a long-range all-electric.<\/p>\n While today\u2019s electric cars have quite a long range and charging stations are proliferating across the country, it\u2019s always wise to plan for a hiccup. All electric cars come standard with a portable 120-volt Level 1 charger that allows the vehicle to recharge from a standard wall outlet. Be sure to bring this charger along on your trip as a backup plan. If you\u2019re driving an all-electric, this could be a real lifesaver if you can\u2019t find a working charger nearby. For an additional peace of mind, there are portable 240-volt Level 2 chargers available, but remember, you need a 240-volt outlet to utilize these chargers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all for now! Go forth and do great things, EV drivers, and remember, road trippin\u2019 in an EV is the American way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With summer around the corner, EV drivers across America will soon be taking to the roads in droves to head out on warm weather road trips. Taking a road trip in an electric car can be a much superior experience to a gas car\u2014if you know what steps to take.[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHave a backup<\/h6>\n