Seven Biggest Mistakes People Make with Their EV Battery That Will Cost You
An EV battery, like porridge and planets, does best in the Goldilocks Zone.
Never let your battery sit at 100% charge. Generally speaking, lithium-ion batteries do best when they operate in the 30%-80% charge range. Although it may take some extra planning, prolonging the time spent within that middle range may extend the life of your battery. One reason that batteries in mobile devices only last a couple of years is that they are pushed to their maximum daily, fully charged to fully drained.
Continuously charging to full capacity is stressful on your battery. If you don’t need the maximum charge, don’t use it. This is why most manufacturers offer “standard” or “normal” charge levels, which do not charge the battery up to the highest level but instead keep them at 80%. By all means, do the full charge when you need it, but do it right before you start the trip. Leaving a battery at max charge for even relatively short periods of time can possibly affect longevity.
Calendar aging is not the only reason that ages a battery. It is likely to be the key degradation mechanism for electric car batteries, but the state of battery charge and the exposure to extreme temperatures also impact dramatically on battery life.
1. Minimize exposure to extremely high temperatures when parked
Exposure to the extreme heat while parking unplugged is when the frequent danger occurs. An automated temperature control system installed in your electric car will needlessly drain your batteries to keep the temperatures down for optimal efficiency. While this performance should only work when your electric vehicle is on the road using its battery, park your electric car in the shade or plug-in so that its thermal management system functions only using grid power, and make sure a stable range of temperatures during operation either.
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2. Minimize the batteries at 100% state of charge
Electric cars already have installed with a battery management system that avoids them being charged and discharged at the extreme state of charge. Keeping the state of battery charge, from 0 percent to 100 percent , also improves the performance of the battery life of your vehicle. Even though a full charge will give you the maximum operating time, it is never a good idea for the overall lifespan of your battery.
3. Avoid using fast charging
If your batteries are soon-to-be die out, using a fast-charging is a great convenience. However, it presses so much current into the batteries in a short period which strains your EV battery and wanes them faster. While it is hard to notice its degradation, eight years of standard charging will give you 10% more battery life compared to 8 years of using fast charging.
4. Control the optimal battery state of charge during long storage
EVs that are parked or stored with an empty or full battery also degrades the battery. If you do not use your electric car often or having a long trip plan, get a timed charger, and plug it in. Leaving your vehicle at 100 percent while parked at a certain place for a long period, the battery will struggle with preserving its state of charge while you are away. One strategy is to set the charger to keep the charge just above the low mark, not filling it up to the maximum capacity, at an average charge level between 25 percent and 75 percent.
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