Depending on the type, vehicles that are stationary for a whole day can consume approximately 3 kilowatts per day. If you add this up over a whole year, this can amount to up to 1,000 kilowatt hours. If we compare this consumption with the current median price via Mijnenergie.be, this amounts to a cost item of 500 euros per year. With the more expensive energy contracts on the market, an electric car consumes up to 600 euros per year when on standby..
How can my car consume energy when stationary?
An electric car may be stationary, but it continues to communicate with, for example, the user’s app. It exchanges data such as temperature, battery status, meter readings… And where a smartphone is used to processing such data, vehicles are less built for this. This is because the process consumes more energy than with a smartphone.
You can put the car in sleep mode, which immediately prevents this problem. But many drivers still opt for the stand-by mode. This way, you always have the data at hand and that way you do not have to restart and read everything.
What about a traditional car?
A car that runs on traditional fuels, such as diesel and petrol, also consumes fuel when the engine is switched off. This is because most modern cars are equipped with electronic systems that remain in standby mode while the car is parked, such as the radio, the alarm and security systems and the central locking. These systems continue to draw power as long as the car is on and can drain the car’s battery if left stationary long enough. This means that the engine must be running to charge the battery, which causes fuel consumption. However, the amount of fuel consumed when stationary is generally much lower than with an electric car. This is because the energy used to run the car’s electronic systems is relatively small. However, this is in comparison with the energy required to run an electric car.
