Does Radio Drain The Electric Car Battery?

If you wonder how your electric car battery is draining so fast, then you need to find a reason. You might be thinking sometime, does a radio drain the electric car battery?

Yes, the Radio drains the electric car battery. Radio is an audio and infotainment appliance or feature in an electric car. It runs on an electric car battery power. The data says that usually, the battery drain by radio in an electric car is much less. Radio on average uses 0.48 kWh of power from electric car batteries per day. It demands 100 watt-hours(0.1 kWh) of the power from battery pack when used stereo loudly.

We can’t say that it does not use electric car battery power. But how much power it draws from your electric car battery pack is important.

This table shows how the different accessories in the electric car impact the range, which is definitely related to the battery drain.

Accessory	Range Impact
Air Conditioner	30%
Heating	35%
Power Steering	up to 5%
Power Brakes	up to 5%
Defroster	up to 5%
Other Lights, Stereo, Phone, Power-assisted seats, windows, locks	up to 5%

different accessories in the electric car impact the range

If you are not satisfied with the above glimpse of information and are interested in reading more. Then let’s get into it right now.

How Much Does Radio Drain The Electric Car Battery?

The radio uses power from the electric car battery when it used. The amount of power used depends on how much you use the radio.

Radio on average uses 0.48 kWh of power from electric car batteries per day. Wired says it demands 100 watt-hours(0.1 kWh) of power from the battery pack when used stereo loudly.

While a regular car stereo played loudly might reach 100 watts of power, its demands on the battery pack are tiny, with 100 watt-hours equating to approximately 0.5 km of vehicle range per hour of use
ALISTAIR CHARLTON, Wired

So when a stereo is used for 24 hours, it will cause 2.4 kWh of the battery drain. This equates to 0.5km of the vehicle range when we use stereo for an hour and almost 12 km when used for 24 hours.

The cars with more powerful sound systems do not necessarily drain the electric car battery more than the normal stereo on an Electric car. These sound systems can reach up to a peak output of 2kW, but only for a millisecond.

So it has very little impact on the EV battery drain. The capacitors in the sound system get charged by vehicles and provide a quick peak output to the sound system whenever needed.

Motorbiscuit has given an example, if a radio drains 2.4 kWh power of from the electric car battery when used the whole day, then how much will the EV range get reduced?

Courtesy: Ask About Movies

Tesla Model 3 will cause 10 miles of range loss and the Hummer EV will cause 7 miles of range loss when used radio for the whole day.

As most of us use the radio for some hours only, then the loss in the range is very less. That much less that we can’t even notice. As the wire says, it can be 0.5 km of the range loss when used for an hour loudly at peak output.

How Radio Gets Power In An Electric Car?

As we are discussing the radio/ Stereo in an electric car, consumes power to run. We have already discussed how much power a radio consumes in an electric car. Now the question is how the radio in the electric car gets powered by a battery. And the answer is simple.

Radio is powered by electric current. This electric current makes the radio work. This electric current comes through the electric car battery. The battery transfers stored energy into the radio.

Radio have capacitors that get trickle charged and give a quick jolt of electricity when power is needed. Absolutely, amplifiers and other parts of the radio are important enough. The electric energy gets converted to the sound waves you hear when you turn on the radio.

Does Radio Drain an Electric Car Battery When It Is Not In Use?

does an electric car battery drain when not used? — *Electric car parking*

The radio does not drain the electric car battery when it is not used, in a general sense. Radio drain electric car battery when it is used.

The radio uses electric car battery power when it is used. The more it is used, the more it will use the electric car battery power. That’s it. If you don’t use it, it doesn’t use the power.

Though there is not much information available about this, we can assume that battery drain by an electric car radio is less or insignificant, that you can not even notice.

An EV battery uses consumes energy at 260 watts per hour when it is not used. That doesn’t significantly mean radio is using it.

If your electric car battery drains because your EV radio using its power, then it can be an abnormal or a sort of parasitic drain.

The Radio in an electric car battery can drain the electric car battery without any use of it when the wiring is improper, something is faulty inside the circuit or you have an aftermarket radio installed improperly.

What Causes Electric Car Battery Drain?

EV owners might face electric car battery drain for many reasons. That can be a hidden setting in an electric car or a defect in the circuit connected to the battery draining its power.

There are several factors that affect the electric car battery drain. Basically, anything that uses the battery power from the electric car can drain the electric car battery. But here are some factors that can cause EV battery drain more fast than normal.

Leaving a Feature In The Electric Car ON For a Long Time.

This can be an Air conditioner, Radio, GPS, Bluetooth, or the heaters present in an electric car. These turned-on features use electric car battery power more and the available range of your EV will reduce fast.

If you want to know about battery drain by AC, then you can read our detailed article on how much electric car battery drain

Different Modes Turned ON When You Are Not Driving

Many EVs provide certain modes that keep running silently even when you are not driving your electric car. For example, the sentry mode by Tesla is an anti-theft protection mode, that detects any activity near your car.

So that mode needs to be running even when the car is parked. This uses a lot of battery power and causes vampire drain.

Checking the electric car through the app again and again

When we check the tesla car through the app, it wakes up the car. So again and again checking in through the app makes the battery drain fast.

Improper settings

Though we have covered it already, there may be some settings that drain your electric car battery even when it is not used should be found and turned off.

Conclusion:

Conclusion#1: Radio drains the electric car battery

A radio is an audio and infotainment appliance in an electric car. It uses battery power in an electric vehicle. So we can say that radio drains the electric car battery. The electric car battery powers current to the radio, and the radio converts it into sound waves.

The data says that usually, the battery drain by radio in an electric car is much less. Radio on average uses 0.48 kWh of power from electric car batteries per day.

Conclusion#2: Power demand

It demands 100 watt-hours(0.1 kWh) of the power from battery pack when used stereo loudly. This can reach up to a peak output of 2kW. It can be 0.5 km of the range loss when used for an hour loudly at peak output.

The more radio is used in an electric car, the more it causes the drain. The less it is used, the less is use the battery power. Radio does not drain electric car batteries when not in use.

I hope this little guide satisfied your query. We would be pleased if you share your thoughts, questions, and arguments.

Till then, I want to ask you, Is it worth paying for an EV if it loses range by using its features?

FAQs

What drains an electric car battery the most?

The heating and cooling system in an electric car drains an electric car battery most. The other things that can drain your electric car battery are air conditioner, sentry mode, GPS, Bluetooth, radio, and third-party API.

Does leaving the radio on drain an electric car battery?

Leaving the radio on drains the electric car battery. Tesla Model 3 will cause 10 miles of range loss and the Hummer EV will cause 7 miles of range loss when used radio for the whole day if the power used by radio is 2.4 kW per day.

How long can I run my radio before the battery dies?

It is generally said that you can run your electric car battery for 4 to 6 hours if the engine is off. It is applicable to gasoline vehicles, not electric vehicles.