BERLIN: The heart of an electric car is its battery, and because range and limited charging infrastructure are still a key factor to many drivers, it's essential you watch out for extreme temperatures, which will ruin your electric's performance.

Electric cars can lose between 20 and 50 per cent of their range in winter, studies have shown, while the battery's lifespan will also be shortened by colder temperatures.

However, this effect can at least be mitigated by strategic heating.

By warming up your car with a pre-air conditioning before setting off, you'll avoid a cold battery having to heat itself up when you start up. If you're plugged in, you'll save the battery from strain by taking the air conditioning from the power grid.

On the road, meanwhile, you'll strain the battery less if you heat just where you need it, for example just with seat and steering wheel heating, instead of the whole interior if you're on your own.

If you arrive home on a cold day, it's also best to immediately charge the car while the battery is still warm.

Electric vehicles can lose more than 40 per cent of their range depending on weather conditions, according to tests carried out by the AAA motoring club in the United States. The results are similar to tests carried out by a German car magazine and by the country's huge ADAC motoring club.

On average, the electrics lost 41 per cent of range when the outside temperatures were frigid, according to the AAA. This means that the range of a car that manages 100 kilometres in summer conditions was slashed to just 56 km in sub-zero conditions.

The biggest range losses occurred when an electric car's power was used for heating the interior and defrosting windows. Cars with conventional petrol or diesel engines use waste heat from combustion for these tasks.

Hot climes can also cause problems, since air-conditioning needed to cool down the car's inside also drain the batteries, thus reducing driving range.

With the right care, experts say, you can have a good influence on the life of your electric car battery. The experts say it's good to keep the battery charged at a level of between 40 and 80 per cent - not unlike the guidelines for smartphones.

Charging and discharging in this range puts less stress on a lithium-ion battery, which has a positive effect on its service life.