[hat_man]

Hello everyone.

First let me say that I think EV's are neat and cool but I'm not sure I could afford even a beer budget build at this point in my life. I am more looking to learn about EV's and how they function.

I understand the mechanics of the driveline somewhat. Things like direct drive or using the donor transmission and the basic idea of batteries supplying the power through a controller and then to the motor.

One of the questions I have always had is...what do EV owners do in the winter? IIRC batteries are really inefficient in the cold and I would think that extreme cold could damage them. But also don't batteries like being charged and discharged to keep them "limber"? If the cold is harmful to them how do you keep them "limber" if you don't drive? I would be afraid to take an EV out even to the store only to have it go dead or have to limp home at a rate that discharges the batteries too far. (Depth of discharge?)

I suppose you could keep them on a trickle charge, let them naturally discharge, and then charge them again with the trickle charger. But I really don't know.

In reality I would love to have an EV for all those short trips I have to make in town. The bank, the store, Menards, etc. Our area is pretty small and it doesn't take more than about a 4-5 mile round trip to reach the fatherst points. Most short trips are only 2 miles round trip. But I digress.

So...What is the "plan" for cold winter weather?