EV range in cold weather calculator
Enter the rated range and the outside temperature to see a winter range estimate, with or without the heater.
Resistive heaters draw roughly 2 to 4 kW (AAA); a heat pump uses much less. Heater power and speed are examples, use your car's figures.
Range table (editable, % of the range at 75°F)
AAA 2019 averages for five 2017 and 2018 electric cars. Real vehicles vary, so change the numbers to match your car.
What the number means
The estimate is the distance an average electric car can drive on a full battery at the outside temperature you enter, expressed as a share of what it would manage at 75°F. It starts from your rated range, the figure on the window sticker or in the manual, and multiplies it by a factor from the table. It is a planning figure for deciding whether a winter trip needs a charging stop, not a promise.
Where the table comes from
The default table is AAA's 2019 test of five electric vehicles (a 2018 BMW i3s, 2018 Chevrolet Bolt, 2018 Nissan Leaf, 2017 Tesla Model S 75D and 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf) on a dynamometer inside a climate chamber. Each car was driven through standard city and highway cycles, combined as 55% city and 45% highway. Compared with 75°F, the average combined range at 20°F was 88% of the 75°F range with the climate control off (12% lost) and 59% (41% lost) with the heater set automatically to 72°F. At 95°F the cars kept 96% without air conditioning and 83% with it. The federal fuel economy site fueleconomy.gov quotes the same results.
Between the points the calculator draws straight lines. At 45°F, for example, the factor is 77.6% with the heater on and 93.5% with it off, so a 250-mile car shows about 194 or 234 miles. Below the cold point the calculator holds the coldest value and warns you, because the real loss keeps growing and there is no data in the table to extrapolate.
The heater arithmetic
The second mode works from physics instead of a table, and the method is ours, not AAA's. The energy the heater uses is its power times the hours it runs: a 3 kW heater for one hour is 3 kWh. To get the effect on range, it first takes the car's consumption without a heater, battery size divided by rated range and then divided by the table's heater-off factor for that temperature, and adds the heater's draw per mile, which is the heater power divided by the average speed. Range is the battery size divided by the sum. For a 300-mile, 75 kWh car at 20°F with a 3 kW heater, that gives 195 miles at 30 mph and 227 miles at 65 mph. A heater costs more range in slow, congested driving because the car covers fewer miles for the same hour of heating.
Limits of this method
The table is an average, and AAA's cars varied widely. With the heater on at 20°F the i3s lost 50% of its range, the Bolt 47%, the e-Golf 36%, the Model S 38% and the Leaf 31%. This spread is why you can edit the numbers. The cars were also 2017 and 2018 models; heat pumps, preconditioning and larger packs have changed since. Fleet data from Geotab (4,200 vehicles) report a different kind of figure, 54% of rated range at 5°F, measured in everyday driving rather than on a dynamometer.
The table also measures combined city and highway driving at a set temperature. Real winter driving adds wind, snow, wet roads, the energy to heat a cold battery, and short trips where the cabin never warms up. Treat the result as a middle estimate and keep a reserve. To compare EV costs with gasoline, use the EV vs gas calculator; for charging time and cost the EV charging calculator; to convert miles per gallon equivalent the MPGe calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much range does an electric car lose in cold weather?
In AAA's 2019 dynamometer tests the average of five electric vehicles lost 12% of its range at 20°F compared with 75°F when the climate control was off, and 41% when the heater ran. Fueleconomy.gov, the federal fuel economy site, repeats those figures. For a car with a 250-mile range that is about 220 miles with the heater off and 148 miles with it on. Individual cars in AAA's test lost between 31% and 50% with the heater on.
Where does the lost range go?
Two things happen. The battery itself delivers less in the cold (AAA saw the cars restrict the battery's maximum discharge at 20°F), which accounts for the 12% loss without any heater. And cabin heating takes energy from the same battery. Fueleconomy.gov says about two-thirds of the extra energy consumed in cold weather goes to heating the cabin. Resistive heaters draw roughly 2 to 4 kW according to AAA; heat pumps use a fraction of that.
How hot weather affects EV range?
Less than cold weather. At 95°F AAA measured 4% less range without air conditioning and 17% less with it, so a 250-mile car would give about 240 miles or 208 miles. The calculator interpolates between the three tested temperatures; beyond 95°F it holds the 95°F value.
How many kWh does a car heater use?
Energy is power times time. A 3 kW resistive heater uses 3 kWh in one hour regardless of the car's speed, which is about 4% of a 75 kWh battery. Because you drive further in an hour at 65 mph than at 30 mph, the heater costs fewer miles per hour at highway speed: for a 300-mile car with a 75 kWh battery at 20°F, a 3 kW heater leaves 195 miles at 30 mph but 227 miles at 65 mph (our arithmetic).
Why does my car show a different number than this table?
AAA's table is an average of five 2017 and 2018 models tested on a dynamometer at a set heater setting (automatic, 72°F, recirculation). Newer cars, especially those with heat pumps, battery pre-heating and bigger batteries, behave differently, and real roads add wind, hills, speed and short-trip effects. Edit the percentages in the table to match your own experience or your car's trip computer and the calculator will use them.
What does Geotab's fleet data say?
Geotab's analysis of about 4,200 connected electric vehicles and 5.2 million trips reports that on average vehicles reach 100% or more of their rated range between 50°F and 88°F, peak at about 115% at 70°F, and fall to 54% of rated range at 5°F. Those figures are measured against the rated range in everyday driving, not against 75°F tests, so they cannot be placed directly into AAA's table. Relative to the 70°F peak, 54% of rated is 47% of the peak range (our division). The two sources measure different things, so use Geotab's numbers only as a sanity check.
How can I save range in winter?
Fueleconomy.gov suggests preheating the cabin while the car is plugged in, and using seat warmers instead of the cabin heater to extend range. It also notes that heated seats, window defrosters and heater fans draw additional power.
Estimates for planning only; real range depends on the vehicle, speed, terrain and weather. Sources: AAA, Electric Vehicle Range Testing (2019), key findings and sections 5 and 6; U.S. Department of Energy and EPA, Fuel Economy in Cold Weather (fueleconomy.gov); Geotab, EV range and temperature (comparison only, October 2025). The heater model is our derivation. How we check our calculators.