Here we brought you the best 5 tips to keep your electric car battery healthy. ever since electric vehicles first hit the market, way back in Victorian times, people worried about the lifespan of the battery. and while little has changed in the scaremongering department, most modern EV batteries have a long life.
Like anything else though, there are ways of either reducing or improving the lifespan of the electric car battery. if you look after your battery, it will look after you. if you don’t, it won’t.
This is especially important when the battery is charged and discharged over time since it will suffer from something called battery degradation.
What is battery degradation: Over time, there are subtle changes that the molecular level that affects the battery’s ability to hold a charge. these changes are irreversible and result in a gradual loss in range.
If you’ve got a Nissan Leaf you’ll notice this as the dreaded bar drop on battery capacity.
Given that no one wants their EV to lose capacity, let’s explore the top 5 tips to keep your electric car battery healthy.
1. Avoid charging your EV when it’s overheating
When the batteries are very hot. particularly in the summer. those hot days when you’ve had a long run on the freeway, that’s the time to let your car cool down before you whack it on the charger.
There are times when you can’t do this. but if the possible charge at the coolest time of day or night. we use a charged timer to make sure that the charging stops overnight when the temperatures are lowest. so if you have that option make use of it.
If you’ve got a garage or shaded area to park the car, slip that car in the shade. this is particularly important for cars without active thermal management. to be fair, modern electric car batteries are way more heat resistant than even ones produced eight years ago. but it’s still better to avoid overheating them.
2. Avoid rapid/fast charging frequently
Let’s take a moment to talk about rapid charging. rapid charging is nowhere near the sin. it was first thought to be indeed an occasional rapid charge that may break down films or crystals that are formed. in the long run, prevent some degradation.
That said, frequent rapid charging will shorten the life of your electric car battery. the charging itself is probably less of a problem than produced. forcing a lot of current into the batteries very quickly causes them to get hotter. and as they get hotter, the degradation speeds up.
3. Avoid storing the car fully charged for long periods.
Ideally, you want to charge to around 95% most of the time unless you’re wanting that extra 5% to go the extra miles.
Why you shouldn’t charge your electric car battery 100%?
Lithium-ion batteries are subject to this really weird phenomenon. where the lithium migrates onto the negative anode. anyhow, once it’s there it forms a film. and this irreversible film-forming happens most at high levels of charge. indeed this weird effect is partly responsible for the much faster loss of capacity seen on this and earlier leaf batteries.
Various additives have been used to prevent these films from forming. but it’s a reduction of the effect, not its elimination. so it’s better to keep your electric car battery charged 80%-95% only most of the way.
4. Avoid draining the battery to 0%
Just like the risk of sucking crud up from the gas tank in an ICE vehicle, pulling batteries all the way down to empty 0% It turns out not that good for the electric car battery health. when lithium batteries are discharged, the anode can dissolve into the electrolyte. when you attempt to recharge the battery, these atoms form dendrites. think sticky-out stalagmites. and these can cause short circuits and reduce the capacity of the battery. so try and avoid those deep discharges. and if you do, whack the car on the charger as soon as possible to avoid it sitting with a discharged battery.
5. Avoid rapid acceleration of the electric car frequently
Who doesn’t love the wine as you floor the accelerator in an EV. that smooth feeling of infinite talk? no one doesn’t love it. no one, except of course the battery. the battery hates it. I’ll give you one guess as to why. it’s that number 1 killer heat batteries sadly have internal resistance. and while in a healthy battery that resistance is pretty low. it’s still there.
So drawing current from an electric car battery produces heat and drawing a lot of current produces a lot of heat. and a lot of heat that means early battery death. so I’m not saying you shouldn’t have that EV grin. just use it judiciously. the traffic like Grand Prix is not something that should happen at every stop.
You may also like to read: In-Depth Study – Electric Vehicle Batteries (High Voltage Traction Battery)
