Understanding EV Battery Health: How to Prolong Battery Life
Your electric vehicle’s rechargeable lithium-ion battery is its heart and soul. As the principal technology driving today’s automotive revolution, it powers your EV and gets you from point A to point B with snappy acceleration and zero exhaust emissions. But if you want to take care of your car and continue to help the environment, you’ll want to know how best to prolong its life.
EV battery health revolves around three primary factors:
1. Usage/charging habits
2. Maintenance
3. Environmental conditions
Today, let’s take a minute to drill down and examine best practices that account for each. After all, the average EV battery costs between $5,000 and $20,000 to replace (yes, 20 grand), so needless to say, this is serious business.
Prolong EV Battery Life By Following Manufacturer Guidelines
Let’s start with the obvious. Before going further, break out your car’s manual and brush up on the guidelines specific to your electric vehicle. Different manufacturers rely on different battery chemistries, so best practices for operation will vary, and you’ll want to be as well-versed as possible.
Prolong EV Battery Life by Avoiding Battery Depletion
Your EV will have a fail-safe system that keeps you from completely draining the charge from your battery. Still, if you want to do what’s best for your battery’s health, make sure you strive to stay well above “empty” at all times. Plan for frequent charging intervals on your road trips to ensure your battery charge never drops significantly below 20%.
Prolong EV Battery Life By Avoiding Overcharging
Best practices for EV battery charging go both ways. In addition to avoiding full battery depletion, ensure you don’t overcharge your lithium-ion battery. Overcharging may lead to faster battery degradation. And while some fast-charging is okay, constantly fast-charging your battery may cause strain and accelerate degradation over time, too.
Our advice? Use fast-charging only when necessary, and try to limit charging to only roughly 80% of a full charge, unless you have a lengthy road trip planned.
Prolong EV Battery Life by Avoiding Extreme Temperatures
Seasons happen. There’s no getting around that. Still, it’s important to know that exceptionally hot or cold temperatures will affect your car’s range. Specifically, extreme cold temporarily reduces battery capacity, while extreme heat may degrade battery life over time.
Store your vehicle in a garage whenever possible to keep it out of the elements. And if you’re out and about on a sunny summer's day, seek shade if a covered parking garage isn’t available. Sometimes, the little things can make a big difference.
Prolong EV Battery Life By Regularly Updating Software
Like virtually all our devices, cars these days are smart. And smart cars like your EV are updated over the air to enhance performance, including battery operation and management. You’ll want to take advantage of all these updates as soon as they’re available, so ensure your car is updating automatically, or bring it in to your local dealer for troubleshooting if you suspect you’re missing out on the latest releases.
Prolong EV Battery Life With Regularly Scheduled Maintenance
It’s not just software. You must show your car’s hardware some love, too. Ensure your battery and all your electric vehicle’s parts and systems are humming along in top condition by scheduling regular preventative maintenance. At RBM of Atlanta, our skilled professionals are standing by to help keep your EV in like-new condition. Schedule an appointment today.