Welcome to our EV Summer blog, where we dive into the world of electric vehicles (EVs) and share our top tips to enhance your EV ownership experience, especially during the summer months. As temperatures rise, so do the unique challenges and opportunities for EV owners. From maximising battery performance to ensuring your summer road trip goes smoothly, our expert advice will help you make the most of your EV.
Here’s some of our top tips to help ensure your summer is as smooth as possible:
Take care of your EV’s battery health
As with all things, the battery within your EV needs looking after to ensure it serves you well and lasts as long as it can. The healthier your battery is, the more energy it can hold. To keep your battery as healthy as it can be, here are a few recommendations:
- Minimise exposure to extremely high temperatures for long periods. Your EV’s battery will need to work harder to cool down which can drain it, so it’s recommended to park in the shade wherever possible.
- Avoid charging it to 100% every time you charge. Generally speaking, good charging habits to introduce include waiting until your battery dips to 10-20% before charging it and not fully charging to 100%, but to around 80%. This will preserve your batteries health overtime.
- Drive your EV frequently. Like internal combustion engine vehicles, EVs benefit from regular trips. This helps to maintain battery health and avoids other issues.
Spend some time pre-planning your route before you leave
Pre-planning your route when driving an EV is essential for a seamless journey, it ensures you have access to charge points and prevents any delays. Knowing your route in advance allows you to plan for breaks, meals, and activities along the way. This not only makes your journey more enjoyable but also gives you the opportunity to charge your EV while you relax or explore. By mapping out your trip in advance, you can enjoy a more efficient, stress-free, and enjoyable EV driving experience. Use the GeniePoint App to find EV chargers along your route!
Learn the rules of EV etiquette
Yes, that really is a thing! And it’s quite important in the EV community. It essentially goes back to treating others how you’d like to be treated, so making sure you’re aware of the rules and are following good electric car driver practise is crucial. This includes things such as:
- Don’t hog the chargers: the charge points aren’t parking bays; they are there to be used for charging and then moving on so another driver can charge. Once you’ve charged your EV sufficiently, make sure you clear the bay!
- Never unplug another car: this is a big no. Make sure you only unplug a vehicle that belongs to you, never unplug another person’s.
- Keep the bays tidy: just a general housekeeping rule we EV drivers follow, leave the bay as you would expect to find it, nice and tidy!
- Communicate with fellow drivers: considerate drivers often leave notes on their windshield to let others know how long they plan to charge if they’re popping to a shop for example. Communication is key when it comes to EV etiquette!
Get to know the range of your electric car
This is an important one as anything you can do to maximise the range of your car will be beneficial. One thing to look out for is whether your EV has an eco-mode. If it does, enable it and you’ll notice that it will help improve your range. Another thing to familiarise yourself with is regenerative braking. When you lift your foot off the accelerator pedal and onto the brake, the motor swaps direction and starts to put energy back into the battery, so it turns your EVs kinetic energy into electricity to charge its battery and boost range – pretty clever technology!
On the other hand, things that can reduce your range include carrying extra weight and having the incorrect tyre pressure. If your vehicle is cluttered and filled with items you don’t necessarily need, this can lead to extra weight being in the car, which means it will use more energy when moving, reducing your range quickly – so make sure you declutter before a long drive. Remember to check your tyre pressure regularly as if it is too low or too high, it will reduce the range of the car, as well as potentially affecting the handling.