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MayTagYoureIt

My EV is the only car I drove in winter. The gas and diesel vehicles are a PITA with block heaters and dead batteries, etc. I'd rather just hop in the EV, push the button and go at any temperature. Also I can preheat the cab in the garage without killing my family with CO.


cnote306

lol, I fully support electric cars but the hate on block heaters is a bit ridiculous coming from a vehicle that needs to be plugged in all year. Probably not the sales pitch I’d be leaning on!


MayTagYoureIt

An EV won't fail to start if you forget or aren't able to plug it in one night. It's a fairly notable benefit.


rdmusic16

I'm excited for EV's becoming more popular in Saskatchewan, and think there definitely are benefits! Those two things have never even crossed my mind though. My car is a 2018 and last winter I couldn't plug it in about 80% of the time (issues with street parking, neighbors using the spot in front of the house - nothing crazy, just normal stuff) - and my car never failed to start, or came close to it. Most modern vehicles are a looooot better at starting in the winter, and having a dead battery is something most people don't experience very often (every 5 years? random guess. I usually get my battery tested after about 4 years, and change it before it dies). If I lived at my old place, I could **not** depend on an EV the same way because there was no guaranteed parking for our house.


cnote306

You are ignoring the piss poor range and ridiculous charging times that are required in all four seasons. Worse yet, charging times and range become horrific for electric vehicles in extreme cold weather. As previously stated, I support electric vehicles but your arguments are so ridiculous I can’t not take the bait. Going further into the need to plug in an ICE car, modern cars with synthetic oil never need to be plugged in. So your arguments aren’t stacking up on any level. For the future, consider leading with instant torque, lower maintenance, environmental aspects, longer service life, or general cool factor.


robstoon

There is a range hit in cold temperatures, but it doesn't seem "piss poor". Charging times are a lot better with vehicles that support 350 kW fast charging, as long as there are chargers that support it as well. And if you're not plugging in an ICE vehicle in our winter weather, you're taking a hit in terms of fuel and engine wear even if it will still start. The fuel economy of an engine after a -40 cold start is devastatingly bad.


JoshJLMG

EVs lose about 10% of range for every 10°C below 0°C. When the battery is fully warmed up, it only affects about 5% of range every 10°C. Still, that's 20% less range at -40°C. ICEs do use more fuel in cold weather, but the difference isn't that big.


JoshJLMG

EVs lose about 10% of range for every 10°C below 0°C. When the battery is fully warmed up, it only affects about 5% of range every 10°C. Still, that's 20% less range at -40°C. ICEs do use more fuel in cold weather, but the difference isn't that big.


rdmusic16

EV's only lose about 20% range at -40?? Holy crap, I thought it was waaaaay more than that. Assuming I'm taking a long drive somewhere the battery will be mostly warm for the trip, and for majority of the winter it's warmer than -30 for any time I drive. For anything in the city, range wouldn't be a concerning at all, and considering how cheap electricity is compared to gas, that's hardly anything at all either. Damn. I was already considering looking into EVs for my next vehicle (a few years away), but they're even more competitive than I thought.


JoshJLMG

That is if the battery is warm, so if you're in a heated garage, that'll be the loss you get. It does use 5% or so just to warm up the battery. And this is all on top of only charging to 80% to conserve the battery. Worst case scenario, you have 30% of your range. Best case scenario, (with the 80% charge) you have 60% of your range. It's usually best to not charge to 100% with lithium ion batteries, especially in cold weather. By only charging to 80%, you can extend the life of the battery. Same is true about running below 20%. It prevents wear on the cells, as each charge and discharge cycle causes them to hold less and less charge. Luckily, battery replacements are getting cheaper and cheaper (though, it may be still be very expensive or even outright impossible on future Teslas which structurally integrate the battery into the frame).


PostHocErgo306

It is more than that. Tesla Owners club in Sask states about 40%. We get extreme cold here for long periods and winter last for 7 months. Not favourable for EVs until technology improves. Also the mining or rare earth minerals for the batteries is problematic for many reasons, a Google search will tell you that. The better mass market option are hybrids.


kelvin_bot

10°C is equivalent to 50°F, which is 283K. --- ^(I'm a bot that converts temperature between two units humans can understand, then convert it to Kelvin for bots and physicists to understand)


insanitymembranity

Lmao bad bot


bangonthedrums

For the 99% of driving which is well within range of a single charge, the charging time is a non-issue. You spend less time charging your car than you would spend at gas stations with an ICE, since you just plug it in at home overnight. So your car is always fully charged and ready to go


[deleted]

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rdmusic16

EV are definitely currently comparable to ICE vehicles at the moment, and the technology/support infrastructure will also undoubtedly get better quite quickly as well - but comparing EV to ICE vehicles now is the conversation. If we wanted to discuss renewal energy sources, I wouldn't talk about what fusion power **will** be in the future - I'd discuss what we currently have as options. I don't disagree with you or your sentiment at all, but I don't think it fits with a discussion about present day EV vs ICE. >ICE vehicles just seem like a joke when you get down to it haha I mean, it's crazy to me that people can think like that. The amount of engineering and progress that humanity made on the ICE is astounding to me. It totally and completely changed human society. Whether the ICE was **good** or **bad** for humanity overall could be a discussion I would be curious about, but to say ICE is a joke just baffles me.


PonyTLarussa

Lol who hurt you? Did your husband leave you for someone who drives an EV or something? You sounds ridiculous.


cnote306

Cute sentiments, but if you read my comments you’ll see I support EV. This week I cancelled an order I placed three months ago for an EV, not because of range, not because of charging, and not because of the temperature vulnerability of batteries, but because initial quality reports kept dropping and I could justify spending a premium for a car that bottomed out on the list. I am ready to put my money where my mouth is. But you’ve probably stopped reading by now, so yea… just assume I’m buying diff nuts with my divorce payment I guess.


MayTagYoureIt

Thanks for the advice, I'll file that right over here...


rdmusic16

> You are ignoring the piss poor range and ridiculous charging times that are required in all four seasons. I also think the block heater argument was weird and not really valid, but for 99% of the driving city people do, range is not an issue, and if you can charge your vehicle at home (which majority of people can, though it's not a guarantee) then charging time is also not an issue.


[deleted]

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PreEntertain

I'm going to believe you, but not rely on this information.


Dangerous-Song1649

Not to sound like a complete fucking idiot but I hope those things can hold up in our winters


schnits1

They do except you have dimished range (40 to 60 percent is my understanding). There's a sask tesla acct on youtube where they do all sorts of winter tests in -35 on a tesla. Will it stsrt? Yes. How long until the interior is 24 degrees and the windows defrosted? Bout 3 minutes. How long can it "idle" with the heater on? About 3 days. Will it start if not plugged in over night? Yes. That sort of thing...


CalciferAtlas

3 days idling with the heater on? That's impressive. This entire thread is a good EV sales pitch.


CrisperWhispers

Be warned its vehicle specific though. There was an article where a chevy volt owner here said the heater was not capable of overcoming winter temps, so the car wasn't usable on the real cold days


schnits1

Do you happen to have the link? I would be interested in checking that out


CrisperWhispers

I tried searching for it but this was last winter I saw it, no dice. So unfortunately for now it's just my unsubstantiated claim. What I did find out is theres a lot of EV owners that have posted their winter experiences here on this sub in the past, so that's a good resource for anyone looking to get one


MaxWannequin

It likely depends on what technology is used for heating. If it's a heat pump, it has to be designed to be capable of heating in extreme cold, or have a resistive heat backup. Cars with only resistive heating (100% efficient) will lose a bit of range versus those with heat pumps (can be >300% efficient, but decreases with temp delta).


Elderberry-smells

I know a few people driving Tesla's and they do fine. Range is not as good (about half in the -30) but otherwise fine.


smitty_shmee

TBH, gas cars are no different in that regard since people run em for 10+ min to warm up so...


jmasterfunk

Yeah, they lose range. It was only a very windy and -35 day where I decided to take the truck to Regina instead of the Tesla. I was more worried about the wind sucking back the range.


rcpettinger

Any permanent battery degradation from our temperature swings?


MaxWannequin

Likely not, most have battery temperature management systems.


jmasterfunk

We had a 2014 Leaf we picked up used, that lived it’s life entirely in Saskatchewan and has zero battery temperature management. On average it was in far better shape than a vehicle from a warm climate.


Prairie_Dad1

Not everyone can afford a Tesla or even a backup. This is why I will wait a decade for better technology.


lord_heskey

> This is why I will wait a decade for better technology Toyota is coming out with a whole range of EVs by 2025. Im excited about those -- hopefully stuff normal people can afford


robstoon

Given their current attempt is all being recalled for the wheels literally falling off, they're not off to a great start. Toyota wasted a lot of time on the hydrogen pipe dream.


lord_heskey

Well to be fair, its an issue with the hub bolts-- not exactly anything with the 'electric' part of it. There's always issues with the first version of any model so yes it does suck but i trust Toyota enough to figure it out quickly. But yea i do agree they wasted too much time and money on hydrogen. They did great with the Prius early on, if they had focused on electric early too, we'd be in a different world.


TheLuminary

The big thing to remember is that most people, mostly don’t drive on long road trips. For that you can have a second car or once the ship shortage ends, you can easily rent a car for doing the one or two road trips you need to do a year.


twisteriffic

They're a lot less complicated than a gas or diesel drivetrain. They'll be fine.


PonyTLarussa

We have an EV and live in Sask on a farm and don’t park it anywhere heated just in a cold barn. Works perfectly fine at minus 35 and I’d agree with other commenters saying it works better than a gas vehicle even, but yes at minus thirty five you can expect a 50% hit on range. We commute to work every day year round and it’s just not an issue at all having an EV. Looking to sell our gas truck and go with two EVs as soon as possible.


[deleted]

I know right. My 1 ton diesel truck I drive around just for the hell of it cause I can. It never really leaves the city so the ev can't even make it past the driveway. ROLLING COAL BABY


Totoroisacat-Alt

Better late than never


oushka-boushka

This is the dumbest article ever. It doesn't say anything at all other than they're still just trucking along in the planning stages. Saskpower stuck spinning its wheels, film at 11.


MaxWannequin

Better than not planning anything at all.