All-electric range (AER) is the maximum driving range of an
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...
using only power from its
on-board battery pack to traverse a given
driving cycle
A driving cycle is a series of data points representing the speed of a vehicle versus time.
Driving cycles are produced by different countries and organizations to assess the performance of vehicles in various ways, as for instance fuel consum ...
. In the case of an
all-electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...
, it means the maximum range per
recharge. For a
plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), it means the maximum range in
charge-depleting mode, as PHEVs can travel considerably further in
charge-sustaining mode which utilizes both
fuel
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy b ...
combustion and the on-board battery pack.
Calculating AER is made more complicated in PHEVs because of variations in
drivetrain design. A vehicle like the
Fisker Karma that uses a serial hybrid design has a clear AER. Similarly a vehicle like the
Chevrolet Volt which disengages the
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal co ...
(ICE) from the drivetrain while in electric mode has a clear AER, however blend-mode PHEVs which use the ICE and
electric motor
An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...
in conjunction do not have a clear AER because they use both gasoline and electricity at the same time. ''Equivalent AER'' is the AER of vehicles following this architecture. One example of this calculation can be found in Argonne National Labs report titled "TEST PROCEDURES AND BENCHMARKING Blended-Type and EV-Capable Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles."
This procedure uses the formula below to calculate an equivalent AER for vehicles that operate in blended mode:
:
Where GPM
CD designates efficiency in charge-depleting mode, and GPM
CS charge-sustaining mode as designated and ''d''
CD is distance in charge depleting mode.
A
plug-in hybrid's all-electric range is designated by PHEV-''(miles)'' or PHEV-''(kilometers)'' km representing the distance the vehicle can travel on battery power alone. For example, a PHEV-20 can travel 20 miles without using its internal combustion engine, or about 32 kilometers, so it may also be designated as PHEV32km.
See also
*
Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure
The Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) is a global standard for determining the levels of pollutants, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of traditional and hybrid cars, as well as the range of fully electric vehicles.
The ...
(WLTP)
References
{{reflist
Electric vehicles