As an electric vehicle (EV) owner, one of the most important factors that one needs to know about is the performance of an electric vehicle battery over time. The owners of electric vehicles must pay close attention to the electric vehicle battery deterioration, which is unlike the traditional cars where the engine wear and tear is of primary concern. The condition of the EV battery DEGRADATION is the gradual loss of the battery’s capacity to hold a charge. This leads to the decreased vehicle range and efficiency of your EV. In this article, the causes of battery degradation, its effects on your vehicle and what you can do to minimize its impact will be discussed.
What Is Electric Vehicle Battery Degradation?
Battery capacity of an electric vehicle loses its charge with time through the process called electric vehicle battery degradation. Such a capacity loss means that the battery has a reduced ability of energy storage which correlates directly with the vehicle’s range. As the battery wears down, the distance of a single charge followingly gets reduced, additionally, the battery could also take a longer time to charge.
How Battery Chemistry Affects Degradation
Battery Chemistry is the major factor in the fast degradation of the battery. The use of lithium-ion batteries, which are known for their high energy density and long lifespan, is common in modern EVs. However, even these advanced batteries undergo degradation as they age due to the chemical reactions that occur during charging and discharging cycles. This is how the battery SEI layers could be formed and lithium may be plated over battery surfaces. In contrast to these normal but unavoidable processes and others of this kind, throttle reduction is the major aggregator of the battery’s initial capacity decrease.
The Role of Charge Cycles
Defining a charging cycle helps in understanding a battery’s life cycle. In every cycle, a battery receives a complete charge and then discharges fully. The more cycles a battery goes through, the more it degrades. Yet, it’s not only the cycle count that matters; how the battery is used and charged is also a big factor in its life cycle. For instance, deep discharges (allowing the battery capacity to drop below 10%) and complete charging (where the battery is charged up to the 100% capacity) will speed up the degradation process of a battery.
Factors That Contribute to Electric Vehicle Battery Degradation
A lot of different elements combine to make the rate at which an EV battery degrades. Gaining knowledge of these factors will help you know how to reduce their influence thereby increasing your battery’s lifespan:
1) High Temperatures
When high temperatures are in the environment of a battery, they cause the factory chemical reactions to take place in the lithium batteries at a much quicker pace significantly degrading them. It is because of heat, which hastens such reactions, the drop in battery capacity and faster wearing out of batteries happen. This is why you should prevent, for example, the direct sun rays on your EV or the hot environment in which it is left for a long time. Especially during the summer months, this is the most dangerous.
2) Frequent Fast Charging
Fast charging, although an excellent convenience, generates more heat than the Level 2 charging, which can be one more reason for the degradation of batteries. Subjecting a battery through DC fast charger cycles quite frequently will also cause it to be degraded faster than if it slowly charged unhurriedly like for example with some off-peak AC charging both in terms of the time duration and time of the day. A Level 2 charger is the best for most of the daily charging, however, fast charging should be kept for long trips and emergencies.
3) High Discharge Rates
When you drive too quickly, or if you often step on the gas quickly, it will cause your battery to send out a lot of power, which will reach the peak throughout your drive followed by a slow landing and causes heat and continuous stress on the battery. As a result, the battery would be degraded faster. You could possibly slow the degradation by driving more smoothly.
4) Storage Conditions
EV battery degradation can be accelerated by how you store your vehicle when you are not using it. If you set one of your batteries to a very low or a very high charge level at the storage, the battery may degrade faster. You should, however, store your EV at a charge level of around 50% to 80% of the total and keep it in a cool, dry place.
How to Minimize Electric Vehicle Battery Degradation
While battery degradation is natural, it can be controlled and the life of the battery increased by maintaining a few practices. Here are some practical suggestions:
1) Charge Smartly
To minimize degeneration, keep the charge range between 20% and 80% every day instead of charging it fully to 100% or discharging it down to 10% regularly. Some electric vehicles come equipped with a setting to limit charging, which makes it easier to stay on the safe side without vigilance, although it is still a good practice to check your battery from time to time.
2) Use Level 2 Charging When Possible
Level 2 chargers have tones of the benefits for both the charger itself and battery health, resulting in a well-balanced service. Compared to Level 1 chargers, Level 2 chargers are certainly the faster variant, and also can be more stressful to the battery than DC fast chargers or others so they are less likely to overheat. Day to day using of a Level 2 charger would benefit your battery and could also decrease the risks of battery death.
3) Avoid Extreme Temperatures
The interior of an EV car usually experiences overheating when exposure to direct sunlight is very long. If you live in such a place, you can even use the car’s air conditioning system to, within its limits, cool the passenger compartment before you step into the car. On the other hand, putting the EV in a garage or carport is usually the best solution. A car cover or window shades can also be used to improve the vehicle’s air conditioning performance to some extent. In contrast, in the case of very cold conditions, it would be advisable to accompany the warm air from the heater to the battery with the help of the preconditioning features installed in the car.
4) Drive Moderately
The estimations made on the basis of high peaks for current spikes and short discharge periods in the case of slow charging and normal driving show that the heating of batteries is minimal. Driving with a little more acceleration helps in the selection of electric motors and in particular electronic circuits. However, the acceleration rates should not be full throttle but rather limited to moderate levels. Also, you should aim to reach the maximum speed of the car rather than lower the speed of the car at the beginning of each driving cycle to reduce stress on the battery and thus extend its lift span.
Monitoring Battery Health
For internal events like the change of the battery and also for external events like the change of the state of charge of the vehicle, the BMS (Battery Management System) uses external sensors and accumulates the data in its internal memory – so-called “cell calendars”. Regularly, battery inspection is just like any other maintenance service. On the salons aimed assessments of electric vehicles, a professional BMS could be the answer to any of your questions concerning the longevity of your battery, such as: Which energy source has the highest cost in your EV? Why does my vehicle’s BMS recommend replacing the battery now when I think its performance is still acceptable?
1) Battery Management Systems
The BMS consists of a central controller, sometimes called the “battery computer”, and a number of individual cell modules. A new BMS can be attached to the battery pack or the electronic system through a serial or CAN interface to facilitate the monitoring of its performance by the user. The BMS will diagnose the health of each cell using a variety of internal parameters and based on a normal cycle of discharging and charging. Understand your vehicle’s BMS and keep it at or an appropriate level for all cars with lifepan different from the life of the car.
2) Regular Diagnostics
As an example, one does not have to go to the service station for a replacement of the car battery, but you can also replace it in your workshop. It is too easy for the machinery at the power service station to convince people that they need to have all the even very small kinds of problems inspected by the specialists. The car is one of the people who are most prone to failures at this stage of their life cycle. After a period of break-in time for the battery, it is ideal for it to be aged for a couple of days. This time is usually about three years and, if the situation does not demand it, the battery is usually not replaced. If any performance-related defect is noticed earlier, it is likely that there will be a large volume of distortion caused in the dynamics of battery usage. This is what the BMS should warn you of and acts as a procedure whereby its approval in the
Consumer Reports offers insights into the importance of regular EV battery diagnostics.
Conclusion
It is normal for electric vehicle battery degradation to occur in all EVs over time, but you can maximize the life of your battery and maintain your vehicle’s performance by being aware of the factors that contribute to it and taking steps to reduce its effects. To ensure that you can use your electric vehicle for as long as possible and for as little degradation as possible, smart charging, avoiding extreme temperatures, and monitoring the battery’s health are actions you can take.
To access more tips for your electric vehicle’s maintenance, refer to our guide on how to lengthen your EV’s battery lifespan