Skip to main content

Climate change is coming for your Tesla

EV owners can save energy and help reduce power by charging less

With wicked hot weather driving high energy demand across California, the state’s electric grid operator, the California Independent System Operator Corporation, issued a Flex Alert at the end of August, requesting that residents volunteer to conserve stressed power centers. In addition to reduced appliance application, air conditioning deployment, and lighting use, this meant scaling back on charging electric vehicles.

This is just another reminder that climate change is coming for us all, even as more Ford, Mazda, VW, and Tesla electric cars amass toward a more sustainable transportation system. While EVs can help to reduce carbon emissions and scale society off of petrochemical dependence, they still require electricity to run.

Related Videos
tesla model 3
Tesla

It’s important to know then, how and when to cut back on energy usage, which includes charging electric vehicles. Citizens who freely chose to consciously cut back on power in response to government requests helped the West dodge potentially catastrophic consequences. This, along with California’s decades-long pivot to a more well-integrated regional transmission grid progress toward more sustainable energy via renewable sources and battery storage helped to avoid calamitous large-scale power outages, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The NRDC also gives large credit to grid operators who “overcame more than a week of relentless record-breaking heat that stretched from Los Angeles to Denver.” This likely won’t be the last time CAISO asks people to scale down and scale back electric vehicle recharging. Here’s how and why EV owners can participate in saving the planet and their ride.

Charging less adds more life

2020 Kia Niro EV
Joel Patel/The Manual

According to Autotrader, the less that owners charge EV batteries, the more life they save their car’s battery. Advancements in the lithium-ion battery packs that juice EVs quicker may encourage repeated charges, but each one of these plug-in’s causes the battery to degrade further. Whether adding 7% or 77% juice, each charging cycle stresses lithium-ion batteries. Logically then, decreasing these cycles can help reduce the degradation of battery capacity.

Be aware of the distance to the destination

Owners familiar with their EV’s battery range (the number of miles that can be traveled on a particular percentage) can determine when and how often they need to plug in. The United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, for example, found that drivers tally about 14,300 annual miles, which breaks down to around 275 miles each week. With tens of millions of drivers on the road, this is obviously a broad estimate. The point is that 275 miles is about the top end of most current EV ranges. Commuters putting any less than that on EVs might have to only charge once a week.

Avoid 0% and 100%

A 2020 University of Michigan study elicited “Tips for extending the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries.” Among these, the U of M Center for Sustainable Systems found that minimizing the amount of time at 100% or 0% battery charge extends battery life. Similar to cell phones, extremely high and low juice levels stress batteries, so EV owners should try and maintain a charge between 20% and 80% life.

At the end of the day, the temptation is to plug in electric vehicles parked for the night, especially when parking in a garage with electric access. As EVs become more prevalent in the U.S. (like they are in California), citizens can contribute en masse to saving energy and, by extension, ensuring a longer life for their car, by simply being conscientious about when and how often they need to charge their electric cars. As we can see with a recent crisis narrowly averted in the American West, this is not in hopes of achieving a distant goal. Climate change conditions are here to stay and it is up to the collective action of populations in participation with governments to successfully navigate catastrophic potential consequences.

Editors' Recommendations

Lamborghini’s upcoming supercar will have a 1,001-hp plug-in hybrid V12 powertrain
Lamborghini news: Here’s a sneak peek at what engine will replace the outgoing naturally aspirated V12
Lamborghini LB744 PHEV Powertrain from overhead in the engine bay of a chassis.

Lamborghini is known for making world-class naturally aspirated engines. From the Huracan’s V10 to the Aventador’s V12, soulful engines are Lamborghini’s thing. Unfortunately, Lamborghini has discontinued the Aventador and its mighty V12 engine. While we don’t know what’s in store for the Aventador’s replacement, Lamborghini has given the world a look into its upcoming powertrain, which will include a plug-in hybrid component with three electric motors.
A PHEV from Lamborghini? It certainly sounds like the end times. But if you think Lamborghini is making something akin to the Toyota Prius Prime, that’s not what’s happening here. At the heart of the plug-in hybrid powertrain is a 6.5-liter V12 engine. The new L545 motor is a major upgrade of the Aventador’s 6.5-liter V12. The new engine weighs 37 pounds less, has more power, has a higher redline, and features a raised compression ratio of 12.6:1.

Getting into actual numbers, the new 6.5-liter V12 engine is good for 814 horsepower on its own. That’s a large upgrade over the Aventador, which made up to 769 horsepower in its most potent configurations. While peak horsepower comes at 9,250 rpm, the engine hits its redline at 9,500 rpm. If there’s one figure that hasn’t grown a lot, it’s torque. The new V12 is rated at 535 pound-feet, which is only 4 pound-feet more than the old 12-cylinder motor.
In addition to giving the engine a major overhaul, Lamborghini has also repositioned the way the gearbox and engine are packaged together. Unlike the Aventador, which had a single-clutch transmission that was positioned in front of the engine, Lamborghini has turned the new V12 180 degrees. Additionally, power is being routed through a new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission that Lamborghini designed that will sit behind the engine.
So far, these would be massive changes on their own, but the engine is getting a large helping hand from a plug-in hybrid component. Lamborghini will assist the V12 engine with three electric motors. Two axial-flux motors are located at the front – one on each wheel – and a third electric motor at the back that’s integrated into the transmission. The front electric motors allow for torque vectoring, while the rear electric motor can act as a starter motor, generator, or an extra source of power. On their own, each motor is capable of producing 148 horsepower – roughly the same amount of power as a compact car. Combined, Lamborghini claims the V12 engine and the electric motors are good for 1,001 horsepower.

Read more
Despite its recognizable design, Mercedes’ best-seller has been fully redesigned
Everything new about the 2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC SUV
2023 Mercedes-Benz GLC front end angle from passenger's side parked in front of mountains during sunset.

It’s no secret that the Mercedes-Benz GLC is the German automaker’s most popular model. Last year, Mercedes sold 342,900 units of the compact SUV globally. A staggering figure. Things, though, don’t slow down in the luxury class and after seven model years on sale, Mercedes believes 2023 is the right time to come out with a fully redesigned GLC and has officially announced pricing for the SUV. The automaker unveiled the redesigned GLC last June, but here's a quick recap if you missed it.
It’s not entirely surprising to see Mercedes roll out a new GLC for the 2023 model year. The GLC shares a platform, tech features, and powertrains with the C-Class. Given that the two models are closely related to one another, it only makes sense to see a new GLC that’s based on the C-Class.

Previous

Read more
This is what the fastest motorcycle in the world looks like now
Do you know what the world's fastest bike is?
2021 Kawasaki Ninja H2R

Modern motorcycles have been through several advancements in design, powertrains, and electronics over the past few years. This makes the current crop of bikes some of the fastest machines – even when you include cars – on the planet. Things have been picking up speed since the 1990s and some of the fastest motorcycles of all time are modern sportbikes. A lot of motorcycle manufacturers have been simply estimating the speed of their bikes since they can’t just ask a rider to test drive their bikes at top speed. 

The reason for why motorcycles are much quicker in a straight line than cars comes down to their power-to-weight ratio. A 500-pound motorcycle with 200 horsepower will offer a similar power-to-weight ratio as a supercar with four times the amount of power because there's a good chance that it weighs four times as much. Plus, without any doors, motorcycles have a greater sense of speed than cars, as 25 mph can feel like you're doing 100. 

Read more