All about the range of an EV, in flat 9 minutes.
By: Garima Pugalia
Tags: Electric Vehicles, Technology, Battery, Automotive, Tech

Since electric vehicles (EV) have hit the Indian market, the range has been like a three-ring circus. People often keep juggling between these major questions — What exactly does the range in an EV mean? How is the range calculated? And what are the factors that control range? It’s just a matter of understanding. And here’s a piece that will help you do that.

We are not very far from the era of electric. Electric vehicles are slowly and steadily gaining momentum, in our part of the world. It’s understandable that every new thing takes its own sweet time to make its place. More importantly, get accepted and understood. And here’s a relatively new breed of vehicles built on an unconventional platform, powered by alternative fuel, and topped with new tech. Unlike mileage, which is associated with ICE vehicles, and has been around for over a century, the range in an electric vehicle is a new concept. But, not so difficult to understand, so let’s take a dive into it.

Range, in the simplest words

The distance that a user can cover on a fully charged vehicle is called Range. Nothing more, nothing less. We can call it the ‘mileage’ equivalent in an electric vehicle. The phrase that we keep hearing “Kitna deti hai” is synchronous to range too. While mileage is more about fuel economy, the range is about the distance you can travel in one full charge, obviously because the cost efficiency is not a worry when it comes to electric.

Yes, it is a very new concept, and as compared to over a century old mileage, that all of us are used to, it needs a much better understanding.

How does a company arrive at a number?

Government bodies test and certify the vehicle (the process is called Homologation), based on standard city riding conditions, which has been defined as Indian Driving Cycle. Most of the auto OEMs communicate this number as the mileage of a particular vehicle.

But, the point that needs attention is that the ideal conditions may be different from the real conditions. What’s the difference? Well, the road condition, traffic condition, and most importantly the riding behaviour influence the numbers. And these differ from person to person, right? And because of that different people get different mileage, even when they are riding the same vehicle.

The range is no different.

Quoted vs on-road numbers

We have read enough articles by auto experts and have seen live examples on the road, it isn’t too difficult to understand why people don’t end up getting the mileage quoted. Simply put, every day is different and every rider too.

“What an auto company says in its ad is not what I get on the road.”

Depending on if you are riding aggressive or conservative, the kind of roads and routes you are choosing and the traffic conditions on that particular day, you will get a greater or lesser mileage than the one that’s quoted.

This is exactly how the range in an electric vehicle works too. But, as I said earlier that range is more about distance than cost efficiency but about “how many kilometres can I ride?”. So, what are the factors that impact range?

What affects the range?

There are some variable factors and then some constants. Some you can control, and some are just inherent to the vehicle. Let’s go through them one by one.

What are the variables?

The factors that affect Range are pretty much the same as the ones that affect mileage.

Gradients

Unlike elevation drops, gradients are nagging. Steeper climbs or uphill rides deplete the battery faster than gradual climbs and flat roads. A combination of these two has a significant negative effect on TrueRange which can decline by 20–40% Inconsistent throttling and braking

It takes more energy to move from 0 kmph to 40 kmph than move from 10 kmph to 40 kmph. Gradual slowdown and pick-up are much better than abrupt & aggressive ones. In the latter, the user is more likely to come to complete halts frequently, and as a result, it leads to more starts from

0 kmph, which means less efficient rides resulting in a lowered range.

3. Things generally ignored

a) Low or high tyre pressure:

An underfed or overstuffed tyre, both isn’t too healthy. For both the tyre and range. It’s something to be cautious about

b) Bad road conditions:

The bumpier the road, the higher the rolling resistance, overcoming this means higher energy loss, which directly impacts range.

4. Load on the vehicle

The weight of the rider and presence of a pillion rider does affect the range. More the load, more the power required, lower the range.

What are the constants?

A few factors are inherent to the vehicle, and you don’t have any control over it.

Battery capacity

The Range is directly pegged to the battery capacity. Over a period of several years and several thousand cycles of charging, the battery capacity gradually reduces, owing to cell degradation, in turn causing a decline in Range.

Yes, you got it right, it’s similar to the cellphones.

2. Fixed energy consumption

Not more than 1% of power is drawn by peripherals such as lights, indicators, horn and the interactive dashboard (In case of a scooter like Ather 450)

Tips and tricks to improve range

Well, it is not rocket science. Just a little about active thinking. Actually, it’s more about gradually developing a habit. Here are the two little things that can help you improve range.

Consistent Speed:

(1) Coast as much as possible. Accelerate excessively only when required

(2) Avoid frequent braking, it’s followed by acceleration, eating up more energy

Regenerative braking:

This is a fairly new but a super interesting concept, and one of the boons of an electric vehicle. If you already know about it, jump to the next section. I will take a moment here to explain a little more about it so that it can benefit everyone who hasn’t come across it too :)

Why is regen a big deal?

So, electric motors are reversible machines; the same machine can function as a motor and a generator. A motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy at its output. A generator, on the other hand, converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, right?

The same principle as above applies here. When the motor is functioning as a generator, the vehicle is said to be in regeneration mode. Typically, when you are in ride/drive mode with non-zero throttle, the motor functions in motor mode. And when the vehicle is coasting or is braking, the motor functions in a generator mode.

It uses the kinetic energy of the vehicle and

sends that energy back into the battery.

Regen opens up great possibilities to improve the range in an electric vehicle. As technology grows, we will