No sweat: Electric cars keep cooler in traffic jams, test shows

MUNICH: Modern electric cars are superior at keeping their occupants cool in summer traffic jams, according to a test by Germany's large ADAC motoring organisation.

The trial was held using a new climate chamber which simulates a traffic jam in the summer heat. Engineers created a typical summer day for eight hours, including a temperature rise of up to 35 degrees Celsius and varying degrees of sunlight from powerful UV lamps.

The test Tesla had a battery charge level of 60% at the start of the session. The air conditioning was set to a constant 20 degrees Celsius and the vehicle was operated in "camp mode" to ensure continuous air conditioning.

This Tesla option is a low-power state, allowing occupants access to all the temperature controls, and making the vehicle comfortable enough to camp or sleep in if desired.

During the trial the vehicle's dashboard reached temperatures of between 30 and 45 degrees Celsius owing to the simulated sunlight, and the outside of the windscreen even got hotter than 60 degrees Celsius.

Despite the high outside temperatures, the air conditioning system kept the interior temperature constantly below 25 degrees Celsius, measured at head height and in the foot area.

The air conditioning system required around 1.5 kW throughout to provide cooling, with brief variations taking place when the sunlight changed or after the doors were opened.

The Model Y consumed a total of around 12 kWh of energy during the eight-hour test, which works out as a loss of 16% of the battery charge level. This means that the vehicle consumed around 2% of battery capacity or 8 kilometres of range per hour.

A combustion engine would require between 1 and 1.5 litres of fuel per hour under these conditions and produce exhaust fumes in the process. In terms of local efficiency, this equates to around 10 to 15 kWh per hour.

This represents a clear efficiency advantage for the electric car, said the ADAC

Independent experts said Teslas were known for maintaining a consistent range even under extreme heat conditions, thanks in part to the use of an efficient heat pump that manages the cooling and heating in the latest models.

Other electric car models suffered a higher power loss, according to a test by Recurrent Auto in the United States. It conducted an analysis using 7,500 electric cars and concluded that heat also affects their range.

"The first test in the new ADAC electric mobility test lab shows that electric car drivers don't have to worry about breaking down if they get caught in a long traffic jam in high temperatures and leave the air conditioning on," said Dino Silvestro from the ADAC.

Nevertheless, even in summer, travellers should make sure they have enough remaining battery capacity to keep a cool head even in the worst heat jams.

The ADAC centre was opened in July and it can simulate temperatures ranging from minus 20 to plus 40 degrees Celsius. The set-up includes a four-wheel roller test bench and a fast-charging station with up to 300 kW charging power.