How to charge an EV at minus 25 deg? Tesla owner shows amid Arctic blast in US
Can an electric car or two-wheeler charge even in freezing conditions? EV owners who reside in places where the mercury dips below the freezing point in the winters may often face trouble getting power due to cold conditions which could take longer than usual to heat up the battery enough. However, in extreme cold conditions, the challenge could escalate further. That is what a Tesla Model 3 electric car owner in the United States showed during the recent Artic blast that knocked out power at several places.
The Tesla owner went in search for a public EV charging station in Loveland, Colorado. He was looking for a Tesla Supercharger to quickly charge his Model 3. With the mercury at 25 degrees celsius below the freezing point, staying out for too long would be a life threatening situation. But the EV owner went out overnight for two consecutive days to look for his spot.
The first charger he picked was completely frozen. When he tried to plug in he realised the socket had frozen to the point that it would not plug into his Tesla Model 3. He was in luck at the next stop.
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To charge up an EV, it is important to precondition the battery is a prerequisite. In normal conditions it does not take time. However in freezing conditions, as was in this case, the battery takes longer time to prepare itself for high speed charging. It took the owner around 45 minutes before the charger could heat up the battery enough.
The owner had hit the charging station with about 35 per cent of juice left. He had set the charger to get to 90 per cent before moving out. It took another one and a half hour before the Model 3 achieved 90 per cent charge.
The Tesla Model 3 owner said he did this on an experimental basis to see how EV chargers and EV batteries react to extreme cold conditions. He also advised EV owners to avoid waiting till the battery is almost frozen before hitting the charging station. Home charging, he said, is the best way to avoid such a scenario.
