Most of us have enough stress in our lives right now. The boss is being a jerk, young Timmy needs a math tutor, and is that lettuce in the fridge the stuff that has been recalled? The last thing anyone needs is to worry if they’ll make it home in their electric car before the battery runs out.
‘Range anxiety’ is a term coined for that distressing feeling one gets when they think their electric vehicle (EV) doesn’t have enough power in its battery to complete a trip or make it to the next charging station. It is not an unfounded fear – even modern EVs cannot travel as far on a single charge compared to the amount of distance a fully fuelled gasoline-powered vehicle can travel. Opportunities for topping off are also an issue, as charging stations are generally harder to find than gas stations.
Logically, range anxiety is cited by many talking heads to be one of the major barriers preventing a large-scale adoption of EVs by the general public. Many drivers are used to being able to drive three or four hours at a time on a road trip before needing to stop and stretch their legs or grab a snack. In an EV, that segment is – at best – halved; even then, the reason for stopping is often to top off the car’s energy source, not the driver’s.
‘Range anxiety’ is a term coined for that distressing feeling one gets when they think their electric vehicle (EV) doesn’t have enough power in its battery to complete a trip or make it to the next charging station. It is not an unfounded fear – even modern EVs cannot travel as far on a single charge compared to the amount of distance a fully fuelled gasoline-powered vehicle can travel. Opportunities for topping off are also an issue, as charging stations are generally harder to find than gas stations.
Logically, range anxiety is cited by many talking heads to be one of the major barriers preventing a large-scale adoption of EVs by the general public. Many drivers are used to being able to drive three or four hours at a time on a road trip before needing to stop and stretch their legs or grab a snack. In an EV, that segment is – at best – halved; even then, the reason for stopping is often to top off the car’s energy source, not the driver’s.