Your electric vehicle battery is the equivalent to your tank of gas in a traditional combustion engine vehicle. When switching to an electric vehicle it is important to understand how you can optimize the health of your battery. Following these 6 charging tips could help extend your battery’s lifespan.
Best Practices FOR EV BATTERIES
Tip 1) Avoid charging to 100%
One of the best practices is to avoid charging your battery to its maximum capacity because high voltage stresses the battery and wears it out in the long run.
A full charging cycle is when a battery is drained to zero and then fully charged, this cycle degrades the battery as it loses the maximum capacity and typically lithium-ion batteries last for about 1,500 to 2,000 cycles.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to charge your battery up to a maximum of 80% to help preserve your battery life.
This should not affect your daily driving commute as the average range on the latest vehicles well exceed the average daily miles we tend to drive.
Tip 2) Keeping a battery level below 20%
Just as it is recommended not to charge your battery up to 100% capacity each time, the same principles apply to discharging your battery.
It is strongly encouraged not to discharge your battery below 20% and to try and drive your electric car in the mid-range between 20-30% at the lowest capacity and 70-80% at the highest capacity to maintain an optimum state-of-health for your battery.
Try to create a habit, just like charging your laptop or phone every now and then. Smart charging solutions and on-board battery management systems (BMS) make this habit a breeze.
Tip 3) Cool down a bit
Fast acceleration is one of the exciting benefits of driving electric vehicles thanks to the high torque that electric engines are able to deliver straight to the wheels.
It is pretty harmless if you enjoy it occasionally but do keep in mind that if you tend to have a heavy foot your battery will drain accordingly, which increases your need to recharge more frequently.
Another important thing to note is that sporty driving over longer distances will generate a lot of heat in the battery, it is therefore not recommended to plug in your car immediately after such use.
This is particularly the case with rapid chargers to help optimize the charging performance and as an extra precaution to avoid overheating.
Tip 4) Avoid rapid charging
While rapid charging and ultra-rapid charging are becoming increasingly more popular to support the infrastructure for EV’s, they are not recommended for daily use of your vehicle.
The best option is to opt for slow or fast charging on a day to day basis. Luckily there is no immediate need for such extremely fast charging thanks to the short distances we tend to drive on islands compared to large cities or rural areas.
Slow or fast charging will still give plenty of juice to your battery from just a few hours of charging at the comfort of your home to get around and meet your daily driving needs.
Tip 5) Create charging habits
The charging habits you are trying to create would simply need to support the typical distances you drive on a daily basis.
Let’s assume you drive 30 miles or 48km every day (this is about the distance covered from West Bay to East End) and say your vehicle has an average range capacity of 300 miles, your daily commute would only represent 10% of the battery capacity.
This is only a small fraction of the range you get out of a battery and should easily allow you to stay within the recommended 20% and 80% state-of-charge of your battery at all times if you charge accordingly.
With this battery range you would be able to drive up to 5 times your daily commute or 180 miles (290 km) by charging only 60% each time. This reduces your charging times and increases the lifespan of your battery.
Tip 6) Storing an EV while you are away
Leaving your electric car unused for an extended period of time is another important aspect to plan accordingly if you plan to go on a holiday trip for a couple of weeks.
Heat management systems and other features of your vehicle will consume energy from your battery, even when it is just parked in your garage.
Depleting your battery to 0% at any given time can damage the battery, so if your vehicle is immobilized for a few weeks, it is best to leave your EV’s battery plugged into the charger and set a charge limit between 50-75% as the battery management system will help to automatically shut off charging when this capacity is reached.
Electric vehicles are built with extreme performance and capabilities thanks to modern day technology. Your battery packs are essentially the heart of any EV, so it is important to keep your vehicle’s battery health in tip top shape and try preserving it as much as you can to enjoy hassle free driving for many years.
Reach out to one of the friendly Carvato team members who will be able to guide you through the process of switching to a greener, hassle-free future of transportation.
