Thread by @WIRED

Can you really earn a few extra miles in your EV by going without warm air or switching off the wipers or radio? Here are all the answers— and there are more than a few surprises. wired.trib.al/uDKjMIS 1/11

Heating and cooling an EV’s battery (and cabin) are the biggest drains on its power. Preheat your car while it is plugged into the charger. 2/11

But lighting consumes very little power. A vehicle’s entire exterior light system typically accounts for 48.80 watt-hours (Wh) of energy. This means headlights cost you just 270 meters of EV range per hour. 3/11

Good news for audiophiles! That premium sound system with a huge maximum power output won’t necessarily drain an EV battery more quickly than a regular stereo. 4/11

USB ports are ubiquitous in modern cars, and while you may want to remove an iPad from charge to preserve range, there’s really no need. A regular car USB port used for charging is responsible for a loss of just 9 meters of range per hour of use. 5/11

You may think slow and steady wins the race, or at least saves battery, but not so. You need only turn cruise control down from 70 mph to 68 mph to get a big reduction in energy consumption for a tiny cut in speed. 6/11

Although they can’t be switched off to save range, tires play a key role in EV efficiency. The correct tires can massively improve range. 7/11

Oh, and don’t assume the car isn’t using any energy until you put it in Drive. The average EV consumes energy at 260 watt-hours while idling. This is a small amount of power, but still equates to 1.44 km of driving range per hour. 8/11

Ultimately, hooking up to a charger and preheating the battery and cabin before driving is the biggest single thing you can do to sustain range—that and planning your route and charging stops before setting off. 9/11

Finally, our fave tip: Be smart with your power. Turning off those heated seats isn’t going to make any big difference in range. In fact, it’s a much more charge-friendly way of keeping warm in your EV than blasting the heater. 10/11

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