Easy Ways to Care Electric Vehicle Batteries
How long does a battery last? When does it needs to be replaced? It depends.
One of the concerns of having electric vehicle is how to maximize the battery’s useful life. One can either use it efficiently or abuse it hard – and proper management is the key to extending the life of EV batteries into decades of effective use. Consider these tips to keep batteries alive for a longer period of time.
Use Moderately
Appropriate use of battery keeps it healthy and vigorous. With this, it’s always best to avoid sudden heavy acceleration in the battery packs. High passing current, whether in our out, will quickly warm the electric car’s battery up. So, don’t make things extra quick and simply follow the normal warming up and pre-heating of electric cars to keep the battery cool.
Running the vehicle with low charge should also be avoided. Driving at lowest battery would cause a dramatic drop in the battery cell voltages.
Charge Wisely
Typically, mobile devices and other technological gadgets only last for a couple of years. One of the main reasons is unwise charging of batteries. Most of the time, batteries on mobile devices are advertised based on their operation time rather than their approximate life span. In turn, people charge their gadgets at full charge to achieve maximum capacity. Also, consumers only charge them when they are fully drained.
The same holds true for EV lithium batteries. Charging to 100% may give you maximum use but it still has the worst effect to the batteries. When a battery pack reaches its full charge state and its resistance in the internal area rises, it becomes harder to push electrons into the EV battery. This adds stress and increases heat to the battery.
EV drivers are advised to charge their batteries up to 80% only to avoid strain on them and to keep them healthy.
Park Properly
Several electric cars have thermal management that keeps their batteries comfortable. Although it comes with a price, air or liquid thermal management helps keep your car cool by running fans and AC compressors. Whenever the weather is hot, you wouldn’t want to keep your thermal management system running continually as you parked your car on a hot asphalt parking lot. Or, your management system may function for a few minutes and shutdown soon. With these scenarios, you might have an effective cooling method, however, you can’t avoid the fact that the surroundings will slowly heat your car and can damage your batteries.
Proper parking should be observed by any EV driver. As much as you want to be in shade when you stand in an open area, your car needs the same treatment, too. Do not leave your EV under the direct heat of the sun for a long period of time. Park properly to save your battery and enjoy a cool accommodation inside when you get back and are ready to go.
These are simple ways you can take care of your lithium batteries. You don’t need money to follow these guidelines. In fact, all you need is a good perspective and a bunch of determination to start the change in you.
