What to do this hurricane season if you have an electric vehicle and the power goes out

Lianna Norman, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·4 min read
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It's not a secret that making the switch to an electric vehicle requires a shift in lifestyle. An EV can go days without charging, but "fueling up" takes longer. Figuring out when and how to charge your EV takes thought even when there is power to charge it.

But it's hurricane season in Florida, which begs the question: What's a Florida EV driver to do when the power goes out?

Here's a roundup of what you need to know if you lose power and need to charge your car.

Can I charge my EV with a generator?

If you have an EV charger in your home and your power goes out, your home standby generator can support the charger enough to keep your battery from dying.

But if you don't have a home charger or share one with other residents in an apartment complex that has lost power, you shouldn't hook your car up to an emergency generator.

Generators create uneven or irregular waves of electrical current that could potentially damage your car's battery. This can be avoided if you use an inverter to attach to your generator or a generator with an inverter built in.

Inverters control the amount of power your generator is putting out. If you don't have an inverter for your generator, charging your EV with it is too risky and could damage your car.

"The general rule of thumb for backing up an electric vehicle charger is that you need a generator that produces a minimum 10kW of backup power, especially for a Level 2 'fast' charge," according to Electric Generators Direct.

A hurricane kills your power. How do you charge your electric vehicle? FPL has a solution.

How to charge an EV when the power is out

Florida Power & Light's new mobile electric vehicle charging station, which can charge up to six electric vehicles during a power outage, is parked on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at Florida Power & Light in Riviera Beach, Fla. Ahead of the start of the 2023 hurricane season, FPL officials held the utility's annual storm drill, as well as displayed storm response technologies at its Riviera Beach location.

  • Find out if your area has any backup charging stations - Some utility companies and local governments offer backup charging solutions that are powered by solar energy and only used during power outages. Earlier this year, Florida Power & Light tested their backup, emergency charging station plan in Fort Pierce. The mobile charging station that FPL has for power outages is located at one of FPL's microgrids in Riviera Beach, collecting solar energy until it needs to be deployed to an area with an outage. Check with your local utility company to find what EV charging options they offer during outages.

"For now, the mobile charging station will not cost drivers," The Palm Beach Post reported in April. "The location of the mobile charging station will be posted on the FPL EVolution app."

  • Solar power - The other fix for charging an EV during an outage isn't a quick or cheap one. Installing solar panels on your home is a much larger investment than a generator or simply finding a backup charging station. But if you care enough about alternative energy to drive an electric vehicle, you might have already considered installing a solar battery system. Don't switch to solar energy just to have a backup power source for your car, because it's a switch that affects your entire lifestyle and the way your home receives power. But that switch could come in handy if you find yourself powerless with a dead car battery.

What happens if my electric car runs out of power on the road?

Running out of battery power in your electric vehicle is not the same experience as running out of gas while driving. It's unlikely that your electric car will simply stop while you're driving it, even on a low battery. Most EVs alert the driver when the car's battery is low. If the car's charge is low enough, your electric vehicle will take this into account and lower the rate at which it propels your car. Some electric cars even include a navigation system that will direct you to the nearest charger.

Can you jumpstart an electric car?

You can jumpstart an electric vehicle and it's not much different from jumpstarting a gas-powered car. You should never use an EV or hybrid car to jumpstart another car or try to jumpstart an electric car that is plugged into a charger. Kelley Blue Book has a step-by-step list of instructions on how to jumpstart an electric vehicle.

Florida is primed for an EV revolution: Are the right pieces of the puzzle in place?

How should EV drivers prepare for hurricane season?

Of course, prevention is better than reaction. Don't wait for a power outage to hit and leave you without a way to charge your electric car. Florida's Emergency Management Division started a campaign to keep drivers prepared for hurricane season.

For gas-powered car drivers, that means keeping your gas tank at least half-full throughout hurricane season, which ends in November. For EV drivers, this means keeping your car's charge between 50% and 80% all hurricane season, if possible. Not charging above 80% can preserve the battery life of your EV.

Lianna Norman covers trending news in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How to charge an electric vehicle during a power outage