The principles of ecological driving with electric cars

Ride relaxed and flexible

Often we don't even realize it, but our emotions influence our daily actions. Bad moods, fear of an appointment or impatience to get home – many events have a significant impact on our driving style. For many, the accelerator pedal becomes a drain valve.

The fact is that nervous driving increases both stress and energy consumption. In addition, the time savings are often minimal.

The result: money is wasted and energy resources are wasted in vain.

Ecological driving is about relaxing and taking your foot off the accelerator. If you're approaching a red light, a stop sign, or a traffic jam, you don't need to accelerate to suddenly slow down when you arrive. These accelerations may only last a few seconds, but they consume a lot of energy and ultimately cause fuel consumption to skyrocket.

Don't be afraid to use your electric vehicle's artificial clutch if you need to slow down. This allows you to maintain a slower pace and better anticipate repeated stops, for example in traffic jams. At the same time, you contribute to smooth traffic.

Take advantage of the regenerative brake

During the braking and deceleration phases, the engine brake of an electric car generates energy, converts it into electricity and stores it in the battery. The advantages of flexible driving in an electric vehicle will then become even more significant.

The positive impact on the range of the vehicle can be considerable. By optimising the use of the regenerative brake, it is possible to extend the range by approx. 20%. Today, several models of electric vehicles such as the Tesla allow the performance of this regenerative brake to be adjusted. The higher the resistance of the engine brake, the more abruptly the vehicle brakes without you having to touch the brake pedal. It's your brake discs and pads that will thank you!

Activate the "Eco" mode

The "eco" mode is one of the adjustable driving modes in most electric vehicles. As the name suggests, the aim is to save energy by limiting the engine power. This mode is perfect for everyday driving where it doesn't make sense to have an overpowered car.

For example, the Volkswagen e-Golf offers two eco-driving modes: Eco and Eco+. Depending on the journey, the driver can choose to limit the power of his vehicle to 95 or 75 hp, i.e. to a top speed of 115 or 90 km/h.

Slow down on the motorway

If you have to take the highway, try to be sensible and don't go faster than 120 km/h, especially if you don't have a Tesla. In most models, the kilowatts are quickly used up at a speed of over 100 km/h.

So be careful not to play too much with speed, especially if your next charging stop is still a long way off. Here, too, the time savings are insignificant, in contrast to the loss of range.

Take care of your tires

Regardless of the engine, the condition of the tires affects not only the safety of the vehicle, but also its energy consumption. 

Choosing the right tyres for your vehicle is the first step. It's just as important to keep an eye on the pressure and general condition of the tires. If you drive with under-inflated tires, your fuel consumption will immediately skyrocket.

Good to know: Manufacturers such as Michelin, Bridgestone and Continental have launched tyres specially designed for electric vehicles. The main difference to "conventional" tires is that they have lower rolling resistance, which further optimizes the range of the electric car.

sumber : The principles of ecological driving with electric cars (chargemap.com)