EVs and Ebikes in Winter

 This article on electric buses in Wisconsin reminded me of the greatest flaw of electric battery-driven vehicles of all sorts: the changeability of battery power. 

Now, that article is about how the buses in Wisconsin are doing well despite this limitation, and I don't want to undersell that. It's good news! It's great news! We should be happy about it!

But I also want to speak to my own experience with how to best use these kinds of vehicles in winter, especially if you don't have public funding to improve your experience.

1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

My first piece of advice is basically the same as it would be for any kind of trip in winter, up to and including walking--or a gas-powered car: the fewer trips, the better. The more you can double-up on a trip to include multiple purposes or destinations, the better. The less you have to leave the house in the bitter cold or heavy snow, the better.

This guy is gas-powered, all-wheel drive, and can get through anything. That doesn't mean I want to drive in those conditions!

Waiting for a train isn't always the worst in the snow, but it's still not the best.

EVs and ebikes might intensify this advice, with reduced ranges, but they don't originate it. 

2. Pick Your Spots

As I write this, we're supposed to get a hard to predict but noticeable amount of snow in the QCA this weekend along with a big drop in temperature. I would prefer not to drive or bike my electric vehicles, or charge them, in these conditions and those temperatures.

But guess what? I can drive and charge them now (I am charging them now) and they'll be fine! 

This picture was only a few days after the one of the Jeep above; note that the snow is entirely absent. 

There are always times and days you can pack your bigger trips and longer ones into, and times and days you want to stay at home. Having an EV might mean being more strategic about those, but it's important to note that you can still get everything done if you want to and you think about it.

3. Remember the Benefits

I never have to get out and pump gas in the cold or snow in my EV. I get places faster on an ebike than an unassisted bike. Both of those are benefits during the bad times in the winter, even if a gas tank or an acoustic bike might be more invariant relative to temperature.  

I didn't park this guy in the garage this time, but when I do, he can charge and stay both warm and dry, while making sure I don't have to fill up outside...literally ever.

This guy can live in the garage even with a car next to him, and the battery can unclip and come inside, and again--less need for me to be out in the cold.

These two both fit inside my back room, or my office, and so again--less walking outside to a car in the cold or snow, and they get me to my destination faster than a regular bike would.

Are there tradeoffs or even downsides to an EV in the winter? Certainly. But they aren't hard to work around, and there are benefits too. As Wisconsin has found, EVs aren't impossible in the winter for buses--or for the rest of us, if we take some care in the execution.