Car energy efficiency
Before you buy an electric vehicle: how will air temperature where you live affect its range and charging cost, and how much CO2 does charging it from your state's grid emit?
EV range by month
Enter the range published by the manufacturer to see the range you can expect each month.
Select a state and enter a range to see results.
| Month | Temperature normal (avg.) | Maximum normal (avg. high) | Minimum normal (avg. low) |
|---|
Compare vehicles
Compare up to three 2025–2026 vehicles on energy use, charging and gasoline cost, and CO2, adjusted for temperature in the state where each one is driven.
| Vehicle 1 | Vehicle 2 | Vehicle 3 |
|---|
Electricity cost = home price × home share + public price × (1 − home share); if you leave the share blank, all charging is assumed to be at home. Plug-in hybrid cost and CO2 split each mile between electricity and gasoline using EPA's utility factor (the share of miles driven on electricity); temperature affects only the electric part. Plug-in hybrid CO2 = grid emissions for the electric share + EPA tailpipe CO2. Rows that don't apply to a vehicle type (for example, kWh for a gas vehicle) show "—". The "e.g." values in the cost fields are approximate national averages; enter your own prices and mileage.
Data sources
- Vehicle efficiency and CO2: U.S. DOE / EPA, fueleconomy.gov model year 2025 and 2026 data files.
- State monthly temperatures: NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals, for one representative city per state.
- Electricity CO2 intensity: U.S. EIA state electricity profiles, 2024.
- Range vs. temperature: The Chart Nissan LEAF average range as a function temperature/Data from Fleet Carma via “Effects of Regional Temperature on Electric Vehicle Efficiency, Range, and Emissions in the United States” from the article by David Reichmuth “Do Electric Cars Work in Cold Weather? Get the Facts…”, February 16, 2016, The Equation, Union of Concerned Scientists, https://blog.ucs.org/dave-reichmuth/electric-cars-cold-weather-temperatures/