How does speed affect the driving range of electric vehicle?
There are three things to take into consideration where the energy is going to propel the vehicle down the road.
The first is tire rolling resistance. This is a relatively constant value, and is affected significantly by load and tire pressure.
The second is drive train losses. In an electric vehicle these would be CV joints, bearings, transmission losses, and electric motor and inverter losses.
The third is aerodynamic drag. The faster you go the more energy it takes to move the vehicle.
Here are some of the calculations for energy use at various speeds to over come aerodynamic drag.
:arrow: 0.295 Drag Coefficient
Speed - Watts used - Watt hours /Mile
10 MPH, 43 Watts, 4.3 Wh/Mile
20 MPH, 342 Watts, 17.1 Wh/Mile
30 MPH, 1155 Watts, 38.5 Wh/Mile
40 MPH, 2738 Watts, 68.4 Wh/Mile
50 MPH, 5347 Watts, 106.9 Wh/Mile
60 MPH, 9239 Watts, 154.0 Wh/Mile
70 MPH, 14672 Watts, 209.6 Wh/Mile
80 MPH, 21901 Watts, 273.8 Wh/Mile
You can see from the numbers that speed does have a significant effect on energy usage. The energy used to overcome the tire rolling resistance of the tires will be about the same for a given distance. If you travel further you will use more energy for tire rolling resistance.
For every minute the vehicle is on it is using power from the battery. So the longer trip, the more energy is used to run the electronic in the car. So at a certain speed you will achieve maximum driving distance. I think this is between 25 and 35 MPH.
There are three things to take into consideration where the energy is going to propel the vehicle down the road.
The first is tire rolling resistance. This is a relatively constant value, and is affected significantly by load and tire pressure.
The second is drive train losses. In an electric vehicle these would be CV joints, bearings, transmission losses, and electric motor and inverter losses.
The third is aerodynamic drag. The faster you go the more energy it takes to move the vehicle.
Here are some of the calculations for energy use at various speeds to over come aerodynamic drag.
:arrow: 0.295 Drag Coefficient
Speed - Watts used - Watt hours /Mile
10 MPH, 43 Watts, 4.3 Wh/Mile
20 MPH, 342 Watts, 17.1 Wh/Mile
30 MPH, 1155 Watts, 38.5 Wh/Mile
40 MPH, 2738 Watts, 68.4 Wh/Mile
50 MPH, 5347 Watts, 106.9 Wh/Mile
60 MPH, 9239 Watts, 154.0 Wh/Mile
70 MPH, 14672 Watts, 209.6 Wh/Mile
80 MPH, 21901 Watts, 273.8 Wh/Mile
You can see from the numbers that speed does have a significant effect on energy usage. The energy used to overcome the tire rolling resistance of the tires will be about the same for a given distance. If you travel further you will use more energy for tire rolling resistance.
For every minute the vehicle is on it is using power from the battery. So the longer trip, the more energy is used to run the electronic in the car. So at a certain speed you will achieve maximum driving distance. I think this is between 25 and 35 MPH.