How many watts does an electric scooter need?
Entering the world of electric scooters can be confusing for many people, especially when encountering terms like volts, watts, and amperes for the first time. This guide is designed to help explain what those terms mean and how they work together to affect a scooter’s performance.
Wattage
When a scooter’s motor is being considered, watts are an essential data point to keep in mind regarding the vehicle’s general performance. Watts indicate how much energy an engine can use at any given time, which can be indicative of a fast top speed. It’s important not to confuse this watt rating with a scooter’s peak watt rating, which shows how much energy the motor can deal with for only a short time. Peak watt ratings are usually used when discussing a scooter’s ability to climb hills and perform other strenuous tasks that require quick bursts of energy.
Factors dependent on an E-scooter’s power:
- Scooter’s top speed
- Scooter’s maximum climbing angle
- The load capacity of the scooter
The wattage for electric scooters can vary a lot, anywhere from 250 all the way up to 5000 Watts. On average, across all models, it’s about 1145 Watts. But that number is skewed because there are a few high-power outliers; most of the popular electric scooters on the market today will have between 250 and 1000 Watts.
How fast can you go?
When it comes to how fast electric scooters can go, it typically falls to cities and states to set the laws. This means that the manufacturers must make motors that adhere to these speed limits. So even though your scooter may be able to go up to 60 miles per hour, the engine will be limited to a maximum of 20 or 28 miles per hour. It’s a good idea to contact your local government to stay up-to-date on the latest regulations. And if you’re planning on buying an electric scooter for your child, make sure to research how old they need to be before riding one.
E-scooter range
The range of an electric scooter is the distance it can cover on a single battery charge. Manufacturers usually obtain these values in ideal conditions, such as riding in power-saving mode to make the range look as large as possible. However, in the real world, you will rarely ride in power-saving mode the whole time, so the scooter’s range may be different in practice.
The wattage or power of an e-scooter affects the range you can travel. Usually, the most potent e-scooters are equipped with an equally powerful battery. By the same token, long-distance electric scooters generally have less powerful motors to increase their range.