The range estimate above is based on very average values. The real world offers conditions that will vary your range a lot from the average. The main conditions are:
Weight of scooter and rider
Wind - headwind speed
Grade of road
Speed of scooter
Acceleration rate - we assume a constant rate for our calculators
If you need to understand just how the conditions above affect your range, skip on over to our excellent explanations at:
Electric scooter range like the range of all electric vehicles depends on the type and size of the battery pack, motor, and driving conditions. For most e-scooters,
the range will vary from around 30 to 90 miles. Stand up electric scooters have a range of around 10 to 20 miles. The battery pack size and type is the main factor determining range most of the time.
Battery Types
Lead acid batteries are the standard, and many scooters in the world today are still powered by lead acid battery packs. Most of these scooters are in China where some 21 million units were sold in 2011. There are something like 150 million of these lead acid powered e-bikes on Chinese roads today.
Most lead acid batteries are produced in increments of 12 volts. If you want more than 12 volts, you just hook them up in series. Stand alone 24, 36, and 48 volt lead acid batteries are made, but not as common. Lead acid batteries offer decent range and performance, but suffer from excess size, weight and reduced charge cycles.
The new battery on the block is the Lithium Ion, or Li-Ion battery. Many newer and higher end scooters use Li-Ion packs.
These batteries are roughly 1/3 the size and weight of the lead acid battery, but cost about 3 times as much. They also feature more recharge cycles than the typical lead acid battery. Li-Ion batteries however require a BMS or battery management system (small computer board) to charge them properly.
Batteries and Electric Scooter Range
How can you estimate range from battery types? Take the voltage of the battery times ane amp-hours (AH) to get Watts. That is V x AH = Watts. You can read the amp hours right off of the battery. Most 12 volt scooter batteries come in from 5 to 40 amp hours, but are on the market at over 100 amp hours.
Example for a 40 amp hour, 48 volt pack battery pack: 40 amp hours x 48 volts = 1,920 Watts.
What does this mean for range? It depends on how many Watts your scooter uses per mile. At 40 Watts per mile, 1,920 Watts / 40 Watts per Mile = 48 miles. You can just plug in your own values to get a range estimate for your scooter.
Generic electric scooter
48v Li-Ion pack, 40 mile range
Electric Scooter Lead Acid battery pack
4- 12 volt, 28 AH batts
Width x Length x Ht
24"X 5" x 7"
Weight - 90 pounds
Price - $360 total
Stand Up Electric Scooter Range
Stand up scooters are much lighter than sit down scooters, are more efficient, but have much shorter (about 1/4) ranges due to much less battery storage space.
Stand up scooters store their smaller batteries under the deck. The deck usually allows up to three 12 volt batteries, lead acid or Li-Ion.
Typical storage for a stand up scooter is about 0.3 kWh and typical energy use is around 30 Watts per mile. This gives us an average range of about 10 miles for the stand up scooter.
Head over to our X Treme Electric Scooters page to see storage and range values listed for a number of stand up electric scooters.
Sealed Lead Acid stand up scooter
batteries fit under the deck
100 AH 12 volt Sealed Lead Acid scooter batteries give maximum miles of riding
up to 80 miles at 40 Watts per mile!
Electric Scooter LiFePO4 battery
30AH 48V
Width x Length x Ht
12"x 8"x 6"
Weight - 33 pounds
Price - $1,000
