Tips for planning your trip with an electric car
Travelling with an electric car is a different experience than travelling with a combustion vehicle, but that does not mean that it is more complicated or less pleasant. The fundamental thing is to have good prior planning, something that also applies to trips in traditional cars, although in this case the details to consider are different.
Is it the same to travel with an electric car as with a combustion car?, Do you need to plan your holidays more?, Is it more complicated to travel with an electric car?
These are some of the questions we ask ourselves when we are going to travel with an electric car or even before buying one. And the truth is that yes, with an electric car we must plan our route a little more, for the simple fact that, today, there are not as many charging stations as there are petrol stations.
Therefore, if you already know when you are going on vacation and you plan to take a long trip, before going on the road you should ask yourself several questions so that you do not have any problems on the trip.
1. How long is my car's range?
Just as we know how much petrol a combustion car consumes, we must know how many kW our car consumes. In this way, you will know how to estimate how many times you should stop to charge your car depending on the kilometers you are going to do.
2. Where are the charging points?
One of the most important parts to take into account on your trip is to know where the charging points are on the roads you are going on. This way, you can know when you have to stop to charge your car without running out of battery.
To do this, there are specific applications such as Google Maps, Electromaps or Charge Map, where you can check which are the nearest charging points on your route.
3. Are there chargers at my destination?
Before booking your accommodation, make sure that there are chargers in the place you are going to, or that there is a charging station nearby. In addition, it is important to know what power these chargers are, because if they are low power they may take more than a day to charge the vehicle.
4. How do temperatures affect the battery?
It should be borne in mind that extreme temperatures affect our vehicle’s battery. Therefore, both on summer and winter trips, we must take precautions. On the one hand, in summer we must leave the car in the shade and use the pre-conditioning system. On the other hand, in winter we should try to store the car, as the cold causes the battery to run out sooner and take longer to charge.
5. What type of road will I be driving on?
As in combustion cars, electric cars consume more in steep terrain, with ups and downs, such as mountainous terrain. Therefore, if you are going to travel in areas of this type, you will probably have to make charging stops more frequently.
6. How do I use the battery?
Electric cars allow efficient driving with the help of systems such as regenerative braking, which recovers energy when braking. Learn how to make the most of these technologies to extend your car’s range during the trip.
All in all, traveling with an electric car may seem more complicated at first, but once the key aspects have been taken into account, traveling with an EV becomes as simple as with any other type of vehicle. We are sure that having these points resolved before embarking on your trip will save you a lot of headaches along the way and will make your trip more comfortable and easier.