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Sethodine

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For those that have an electric vehicle, How does the heater work and how does it cut into the distance you can drive on a battery charge?

Don't forget to include the headlights, the radio, wipers and A/C

Headlights, radio and wipers all have no measurable impact on range. Partly because the headlights in my Leaf are LED (which means they're a whopping $450 a piece!) but they are very low drain. Thankfully, the LED lights will last the life of the car, but I still don't fancy paying for new ones.

Heat and A/C, however, are quite a drain. Obviously there is no engine heat to siphon off for the heater, so it uses a heating element combined with a fan. The heating element, the compressor for the AC, and the blower fan for both, all take their slice of the battery and can reduce my range by 10 miles or more. Assuming I used it all the time. Which I don't.

The Leaf is also equipped with heated seats in the front and in the back, and a heated steering wheel. Not only are these all very low drain, but they are quite effective and I am quite cozy even on cold days. On a typical western Washington day, the only time I need to use the climate control is in short bursts to defrost the windshield.
 

Sethodine

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Do you also lose some range because of the batteries having to be "directly" heated in low temperatures?

The car comes with a battery heater for keeping it warm in sub-zero temperatures. Yes, the battery heater drains electricity, but as long as your car is plugged in then it draws that energy from the charger and not the motive battery. When the car is moving (discharging), then the battery naturally heats up anyways, so there would only be need to operate the battery heater in extremely low temperatures.

However, when the battery is very cold, it increases the charge time and reduces the performance of the car, in order to protect the health of the battery. Here in the Pacific Northwest, it never gets cold enough to even activate the battery heater (I think it needs to be -15 degrees F in order to activate, and our winters usually bottom out at 25 degrees F.)
 

KenK

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Well Im ready... but I wonder how this will go over with the Law Enforcement personnel on the army base where I work. They have pretty strict rules for motorcyclists and they seem to be very inflexible. I can imagine rolling up in my SRK and being turned away because I am not wearing a reflective vest, jacket, boots, gloves, or a helmet. So that pretty much negates 90% of the traveling I would do in it.

I might concede on the boots/gloves/vest, but not the jacket/helmet.
 

Sethodine

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Well Im ready... but I wonder how this will go over with the Law Enforcement personnel on the army base where I work. They have pretty strict rules for motorcyclists and they seem to be very inflexible. I can imagine rolling up in my SRK and being turned away because I am not wearing a reflective vest, jacket, boots, gloves, or a helmet. So that pretty much negates 90% of the traveling I would do in it.

I might concede on the boots/gloves/vest, but not the jacket/helmet.
Well, seeing as the SRK isn't fully enclosed, I'd probably go with the jacket too unless it's pretty warm where you live/work. But yeah, I agree helmet is excessive when it already has a windshield, roof, roll cage and seat belts.
 

Rickb

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Well, seeing as the SRK isn't fully enclosed, I'd probably go with the jacket too unless it's pretty warm where you live/work. But yeah, I agree helmet is excessive when it already has a windshield, roof, roll cage and seat belts.
Side panels allow for open or enclosed riding to include climate control on the production model. There will also be an enclosed single seater Deliverator SRK.

image.jpeg
 
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