Is sleeping in an electric car safer than a gasoline or diesel car?

Recently, an incident involving a father and his three children having an accident while sleeping in a car due to a power outage at home, in which one person died and two others were in critical condition, once again caused a stir in public opinion.

The fact that sleeping in a car can be fatal has been widely warned in the media, but it seems that many people still deliberately ignore those warnings for many reasons.

Many people tend to sleep on electric cars more because of the conveniences it brings.

However, electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular, and many people believe that sleeping in an electric vehicle is less likely to result in death than a vehicle using a traditional internal combustion engine that runs on gasoline or diesel. Is that true?

Automotive expert Nguyen Manh Thang, who is also using an electric car, said: "In theory, sleeping in an electric car is safer and quieter than in a gasoline or diesel car. Because electric cars use batteries and do not need an idling engine to provide electricity for the air conditioner, they do not emit gases that can easily cause suffocation, poisoning, and can lead to death, such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO) or Nitrogen oxide (NOx)."

With traditional internal combustion engine vehicles running on gasoline or diesel, users who want to sleep in the car for a short period of time need to park the car in a well-ventilated area, but with electric vehicles, users can park the car right in the house and sleep inside the car without causing any problems because the car does not emit toxic gases.

However, expert Nguyen Manh Thang also warned that sleeping in the car is still potentially dangerous because the car cabin space is quite small. Although the cabin is not completely sealed, it can still make people sleeping in the car feel tired. Even if many people sleep, it can lead to lack of oxygen and CO2 poisoning from the human body.

"Just like gasoline and diesel cars need to fill the fuel tank to ensure the engine runs and the air conditioner runs, electric cars also need to fully charge the battery. If they have not had time to fully charge, users should calculate how long the remaining battery can load the car's air conditioning system to ensure safety," Mr. Thang added.

An electric car equipped with a large battery pack can use air conditioning continuously for several days if the car is left stationary.

Taking the VinFast VF 8 electric car as an example, the car is equipped with an 88kWh battery pack, the maximum air conditioning capacity on the car is 6kW, most electric cars use Inverter air conditioners so they will consume less electricity in ideal temperature conditions.

In 1 hour of running on electricity, the car only consumes 1-1.5%, so if the car is just left standing, a fully charged electric car can use the air conditioner continuously for several days.

Also according to research from experts from Oxford University in the UK, if you intend to sleep in an electric car, users should note the following:

- First, the user needs to make sure that the vehicle has more than 50% charge.

- Second, the temperature inside the tram can be very cold at night, so it is important to dress warmly.

- Finally, you need to pay attention to the battery life. If the battery is no longer good, the user may not be able to sleep for long.

In conclusion, sleeping in a tram is completely safe and can be a great way for users to save some money if they are unfortunate enough to have to sleep in the middle of the road without finding a place to stay.

The advantage of electric cars is that they have more legroom and are often wider than traditional gasoline or diesel cars of the same overall size, so sleeping in an electric car will feel much more comfortable.