How to optimise the range of your electric vehicles

There’s plenty of research out there to show that electric vehicles are better for the environment. Even taking into account the production and electricity generation to keep them running, they emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than petrol or diesel cars and therefore have less impact on the environment.

We’ll all remember seeing images of clear, unpolluted, skies in London and other cities during the first lockdown when nobody was out on the roads and this is one of the major benefits of electric vehicles. With no tailpipe there are zero emissions when pure electric vehicles are driven, which reduces air pollution significantly and makes for a much better air quality for pedestrians and cyclists.

Whilst nobody can argue that going green is necessary and with the government’s announcement back in November 2020 that they intended to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030 it’s inevitable for all, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Firstly, with demand running at an increasingly high level and the ongoing consequences of the pandemic including reduced workforces and a global chip shortage, electric vehicles aren’t readily available. Secondly, the distribution of charging points currently across the country has been shown to be very uneven with rural places in particular having much less access to them and there’s widespread concern that there simply won’t be enough as the orders for electric vehicles continues. In October 2021 Polly Billington, CEO of UK100, said “Our research shows that the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure is going to creak under demand with a ‘black hole’ of a quarter of a million chargers.”

Even for private vehicle users the purchasing of an electric vehicle and what that means can be a headache but for fleet operators it’s a huge challenge operationally and financially. From the initial investment in the vehicles and charging points to the ongoing maintenance of the fleet, there is plenty to keep CEOs, MDs and Fleet Managers awake at night. There are companies out there fortunately who are already one step ahead and who, through innovative products, are helping fleet operators to get the most out of their electric vehicles once purchased.

Like a fuel driven vehicle, different drivers will return different ‘miles per gallon’ or in the case of electric vehicles ‘miles per charge’ purely by having different driving styles. That’s all very well in a privately owned family car as you can stop and charge as required but a nightmare for fleet managers trying to plan delivery routes with inconsistent range returns. Although vehicle manufacturers may claim a range of 150 miles, it’s not uncommon to see an average of 100 miles per charge, for example. That’s why range optimisers, which could raise the average up to 130 – 140 miles, are proving very popular. The vehicle specific, smart black box is ‘plug and play’ and takes the input the driver is giving the vehicle via the throttle and passes the message onto the vehicle to give the driver what the driver is expecting but in the most efficient way. For a fleet manager, they can expect the same range regardless of driver and can schedule charges more efficiently.

Last year Parksafe carried out a trial of their PS±EV Eco Save Electric Vehicle Device with Eden Tyres & Servicing, a family run business that has been keeping their customers safe on the roads since 1981. Keen to look at solutions to the challenges of using electric vehicles they agreed to work with Parksafe to trial the device with a brand new Mercedes eVito 2021 which was sent out on a daily route of approximately 68 miles.The same route was taken each day and it covered a number of stops and starts to deliver tyres. On days 1 and 2 the standard vehicle was used and on days 3 and 4 the vehicle had the PS±EV Eco Save device fitted. The driver was changed each day and the consistency of kw/miles increased.

There’s plenty of research out there to show that electric vehicles are better for the environment. Even taking into account the production and electricity generation to keep them running, they emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants than petrol or diesel cars and therefore have less impact on the environment.

We’ll all remember seeing images of clear, unpolluted, skies in London and other cities during the first lockdown when nobody was out on the roads and this is one of the major benefits of electric vehicles. With no tailpipe there are zero emissions when pure electric vehicles are driven, which reduces air pollution significantly and makes for a much better air quality for pedestrians and cyclists.

Whilst nobody can argue that going green is necessary and with the government’s announcement back in November 2020 that they intended to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030 it’s inevitable for all, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Firstly, with demand running at an increasingly high level and the ongoing consequences of the pandemic including reduced workforces and a global chip shortage, electric vehicles aren’t readily available. Secondly, the distribution of charging points currently across the country has been shown to be very uneven with rural places in particular having much less access to them and there’s widespread concern that there simply won’t be enough as the orders for electric vehicles continues. In October 2021 Polly Billington, CEO of UK100, said “Our research shows that the UK’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure is going to creak under demand with a ‘black hole’ of a quarter of a million chargers.”