Robin <mixent...@aussiebroadband.com.au> wrote: I have been wondering by how much does heating/aircon lower the range of > electric vehicles? Anyone have a rough idea? >
Hardly any. Soon after the Prius was introduced, some engineers studied this when trying to achieve miles per gallon distance records. As I recall, in most cases they could not measure the effect of the air conditioner. In some cases they found that leaving the air conditioning on was more efficient than leaving the windows open. The drag from an open window consumed more energy than the air-conditioning. Air conditioners in modern cars such as the Prius are very efficient. Granted, they were not driving through Death Valley. Heating is done with waste heat from the engine, so it does not reduce efficiency at all. Except for the blower motor.
