Drive in an energy-saving manner
The Stuttgart-based carmaker Mercedes-Benz points out that rapid acceleration in an e-car is less noticeable in terms of energy consumption than in a conventional combustion engine. Drivers of electric cars should nevertheless accelerate gently, as this protects the battery.
According to the carmaker, high speeds of more than 100 km/h are all the more noticeable in terms of energy consumption compared to combustion engines – this increases disproportionately. So it’s worth not pushing the car to its limits.
If the vehicle has an eco mode, owners of an electric car can easily activate it. In this way, the vehicle is automatically controlled economically and, for example, the maximum top speed and the acceleration performance are reduced.
According to Mercedes-Benz, very hard braking should also be avoided, because part of the kinetic energy is converted into heat and thus lost. Drivers should therefore drive with foresight and, if possible, let the car coast, because if the driver takes their foot off the gas, the electric motor, as AUTO BILD writes, becomes a generator. In this way, part of the energy can be recovered and stored in the battery. This is called recuperation. With most electric cars, different levels of recuperation can be set, ranging from coasting to one-pedal driving (speed control solely via the gas pedal). However, the braking intervention of the engine should not be underestimated.
If recuperation is deactivated, energy can be saved with so-called “sailing”, i.e. letting the vehicle coast, which uses the car’s momentum.
Usage behavior: short distances no problem – preconditioning makes sense
While it is generally known that diesel vehicles in particular can suffer from increased engine wear and problems with clogged particle filters if there are too many short journeys, according to Mercedes-Benz these hardly increase fuel consumption and wear and tear in electric cars.
However, one factor that draws a comparatively large amount of additional energy from the traction battery is heating and air conditioning. So-called preconditioning can be worthwhile here, i.e. heating or cooling the vehicle before driving while the car is still charging at the socket. The electricity for the process is still required and costs money, but at least the usable range is reduced significantly less.
Special features in winter
VW points out that the electric heater is one of the factors that increases the energy consumption of an electric car, especially in winter. Even short distances can still become a problem here: if that electric car cooling down and heating up again and again on this, energy consumption increases, especially in cold temperatures. Since the heat supply to the interior consumes the most electricity, energy consumption can be reduced by using a mix of seat, steering wheel and window heating in order to reduce the consumption of air heating. It is also worth setting the heating to air recirculation mode, as the interior warms up faster in this mode.
In addition, VW recommends that the owners of an electric car park it in the garage where it is best protected from the cold, as this reduces the vehicle’s heat loss and increases the life of the battery. Windows and doors should be opened rarely and only briefly to keep the heat in the interior longer.
battery care
According to Mercedes-Benz, e-car drivers can also do something good for their vehicle by charging it at low power, as this has a positive effect on battery life. In addition, frequent recharging should be avoided when the battery is still quite high, as this weakens the performance of the battery.
Classic savings tips
In addition to these special energy-saving tips, tips that are known for conventional combustion engines can also be used in electric cars. For example, no unnecessary weight should be transported and the tire pressure should be checked regularly. According to AUTO BILD, an increase in tire pressure of just 0.2 bar is hardly noticeable in terms of driving comfort, but reduces consumption. Whereby safety must always be kept in mind, which of course takes precedence over austerity measures.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
No data
Image sources: Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com, Smile Fight / Shutterstock.com