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Comment by esturk | Hacker News Reader

"Cold weather has an influence on the battery capacity too."

I take this to mean that the author acknowledges GAS cars are also affected by cold weather. There's just no escaping thermodynamics. It's also like pointing out GAS cars' MPG is reduced by 20%+ in cold weather. While it's true, it's like pointing out a gotcha edge case for all cars. So the conclusion can also apply the same way to GAS cars. 'Next time you estimate the mileage, take a 20% discount!'

According to energy.gov[1]:

Cold weather and winter driving conditions can significantly reduce fuel economy. Fuel economy tests show that, in city driving, a conventional gasoline car's gas mileage is roughly 15% lower at 20°F than it would be at 77°F. It can drop as much as 24% for short (3- to 4-mile) trips.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/fuel-economy-cold-weather....

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That article seems a bit misleading. I have to think the impact of cold weather on an ICE vehicle is highly variable on other factors. It certainly wasn't quite so bad when I was growing up in Canada, and most of the variance was attributable to differences in winter vs. summer fuel mixes.

Most of the effects it describes are only in effect while the car is warming up, and given that say, engine oil typically warms up to around 70C when operating, it's hard to believe that the difference between starting at say -10C vs 20C is really going to add up for anything more than a VERY short drive (one that, if you cared about fuel economy or environmental impact, you'd probably just make on foot).

Sure, if you have electric seat warmers and the like, that could add up, but one of the "advantages" of an ICE car is their inefficiency leads to lots of waste heat, so they can keep the car cabin warm just from that, without needing to use electric heaters at all (keeping the interior cabin warm is one of the primary factors that sucks up EV range in cold weather).

No where did the energy.gov article nor parent article mention interior heating. The discussion was always about battery performance vs ICE performance degradation under cold weather.

> No where did the energy.gov article nor parent article mention interior heating.

That would be my point. Most of the impact on the range of EV cars in cold weather is the impact of interior heating.

So that's optional then? Not really a compelling argument as oppose to the operation of the vehicle.

Actually I wasn't referring to ICE, just that the climate influenced the realistic daily range too. But your remark is very interesting, I would have thought that combustion did not suffer much from the cold.

Maybe it’s air density with coefficient of drag that worsens in cold air.

I believe those were factors once upon a time, but modern cars tend to heavier and more aerodynamic than they once were, so drag is less of a factor... and the air gets warmed up prior to combustion, which minimizes the impact of its initial temperature.

I can fill up the gas car quickly almost anywhere if I'm running low on fuel.

Also, survival time in a stuck ICE in Winter is much higher.

Actually the “stuck in winter” problem for EVs is a myth: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38883045/electric-cars-sn...

'Lane ends by saying EVs can "work as well as ICE counterparts in many, or even most, ordinary situations." But in the extraordinary ones, like 16-hour blizzard traffic jams? "We're not there yet.'

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