title: Effects of regional temperature on electric vehicle efficiency, range, and emissions in the United States.
abstract: We characterize the effect of regional temperature differences on battery electric vehicle (BEV) efficiency, range, and use-phase power plant CO2 emissions in the U.S. The efficiency of a BEV varies with ambient temperature due to battery efficiency and cabin climate control. We find that annual energy consumption of BEVs can increase by an average of 15% in the Upper Midwest or in the Southwest compared to the Pacific Coast due to temperature differences. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from BEVs vary primarily with marginal regional grid mix, which has three times the GHG intensity in the Upper Midwest as on the Pacific Coast. However, even within a grid region, BEV emissions vary by up to 22% due to spatial and temporal ambient temperature variation and its implications for vehicle efficiency and charging duration and timing. Cold climate regions also encounter days with substantial reduction in EV range: the average range of a Nissan Leaf on the coldest day of the year drops from 70 miles on the Pacific Coast to less than 45 miles in the Upper Midwest. These regional differences are large enough to affect adoption patterns and energy and environmental implications of BEVs relative to alternatives.
authors: §Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors: Tugce
authors: T
authors: Yuksel
authors: §Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.|‡Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
authors: Jeremy J
authors: JJ
authors: Michalek
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001336:Automobiles; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D011211:Electric Power Supplies / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005843:Geography; D013696:Temperature; D014481:United States; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002245:Carbon Dioxide