EV winter range
VehiclesHow far will your electric car go in winter?
See the range of your electric car in the cold, with the heater on, from official test figures.
What you enter stays on your device while you use this tool. Opening a shared link sends the settings in its address to HowToolbox to prepare the page.
More options
Estimated range
112 mi
54 kWh used from 100% to 10% at 3.5 mi/kWh, in the cold with the heater on. That is about 179 km.
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See the range of your electric car in the cold, with the heater on, from official test figures.
How to use
- Enter the battery capacity in kWh. If you know the car only shows part of it, enter the usable share under More options.
- Enter the car's consumption in the unit you know: kWh/100 km, Wh/km or miles per kWh. Your trip computer shows a recent average.
- Set the charge you start with and the charge you want to keep in reserve, and choose cold weather if it applies. Copy the link to share the estimate.
Range by battery size at 18 kWh/100 km, from 100 % to 10 %
| Battery (kWh) | Mild weather | Cold, heater off | Cold, heater on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 200 km | 176 km | 118 km |
| 50 | 250 km | 220 km | 148 km |
| 60 | 300 km | 264 km | 177 km |
| 75 | 375 km | 330 km | 221 km |
| 100 | 500 km | 440 km | 295 km |
Cold figures apply the 12 % and 41 % shorter ranges that the U.S. Department of Energy reports for 20 °F (−7 °C).
How it works
An electric car's range is the energy you can use from the battery divided by the energy it uses per kilometre. The usable energy is the capacity times the usable share, times the part of the charge you drive through, for example from 100 % down to a 10 % reserve.
Range = capacity × usable share × (start charge − end charge) ÷ consumption. A 60 kWh battery driven from 100 % to 10 % gives 54 kWh; at 18 kWh/100 km that is 54 ÷ 0.18 = 300 km. Consumption units that count the other way, such as miles per kWh, are converted first, using the exact definition of the mile.
Cold weather is optional and uses one published test. The U.S. Department of Energy (fueleconomy.gov), citing a 2019 AAA test, reports that at 20 °F (−7 °C) an electric car's range is about 12 % lower than at 75 °F with the cabin heater off and about 41 % lower with it on. Your car, speed and heating habits will differ.
This is a planning estimate. Speed, load, tyres, hills, preconditioning and the age of the battery are not modelled, so use your own recent average consumption for the best result.
Worked example
How far does a 60 kWh battery go at 18 kWh/100 km, from 100 % to 10 %?
- 60 kWh × (100 % − 10 %) = 54 kWh used.
- 54 kWh ÷ 18 kWh/100 km × 100 = 300 km.
300 km
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Frequently asked questions
How much range does an electric car lose in winter?
The U.S. Department of Energy, citing a 2019 AAA test, reports about 12 % less range at 20 °F (−7 °C) with the heater off and about 41 % less with it on, compared with 75 °F.
Why does the heater matter so much?
Heating the cabin takes energy from the same battery that drives the car. The same source says about two thirds of the extra energy used in the cold goes into heating the cabin.
How can I keep more range in the cold?
Warm the cabin while the car is still plugged in and use seat heaters instead of the cabin heater, as the Department of Energy suggests.
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