In the extreme winter weather that has blasted Finland since New Year, sub-zero driving conditions pose obvious safety challenges for motorists. While driving conditions need to be taken seriously, so too must a vehicle's condition.
With the number of electric and hybrid car users growing in Finland, drivers of the battery-powered vehicles need to be particularly aware of how severe cold affects their batteries.
Teppo Vesalainen, training manager from the Automobile and Touring Club of Finland, offers some advice on what to bear in mind if you're driving an EV.
Freezing temperatures can impact both the battery's operating range and charging. In winter, electric vehicles cannot be expected to have the same range as they do in warmer conditions, Vepsalainen says.
"When you go on a trip with an electric car in the winter months in Finland you have to be prepared that only half of the WLTP operating distance indicated for the car can be reached with a full battery. On the coldest days of winter, you may not even get that far," Vesalainen says.
The WLTP operating distance is a global standard that gives an estimate of how far a vehicle can be driven after being charged.
According to Vesalainen, when electric cars need roadside assistance it's commonly an issue of severe frozen temperatures causing starter battery failures. He says this is much more common than simply running out of power from the main battery. In addition, road service units are often called out to open frozen charging hatches and remove frozen charging plugs from the car.
Preserving battery life in severe cold
The battery of an electric car should always be preheated in freezing temperatures, says special traffic expert Hanna Kalenoja from the Finnish Information Centre of Automobile Sector. Preheating conserves battery life because it does not then need to be used to heat the car.
Kalenoja recommends keeping EVs charged in severe frozen conditions even when they're not in regular use. Extreme cold can damage the car if it stands idle for long periods on an empty battery, she warns.
Kalenoja also mentions that the car should always be cleaned of snow and ice. This is important not only for traffic safety, but also because extra snow and ice increase wind resistance and therefore, consumption.
According to Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom's statistics, there were almost 45,000 electric cars and 104,000 plug-in hybrid cars being used in Finland at the end of 2022.
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