As an EV (Electric Vehicle) user, you always look for the best charging solution recycling lead acid batteries. For our daily use, we always try to charge our EV at home up to a minimal required level. But during long route travel, we must plan our travel as per the public chargers on our route. Also, in an emergency when we are short of time, we prefer charging in the available public electric vehicle charging stations.
While charging our EV, we need to be mindful of our EV battery health. In this post, we will be diving deep into understanding EV batteries and the steps we can take to increase the life of our EV batteries.
All batteries degrade with time and use. Most EVs (Electric Vehicles) have a warranty for eight years or 100,000 miles (about 160934.4 km), whichever is earlier. An EV battery is considered at the end of its life if it no longer maintains 80% of total usable capacity and has more than a 5% self-discharge rate over a 24-hours. (Engel et al. 2019).
This degradation can occur before time if charging and discharging patterns are unstable. I. e. repeatedly conducting fast charge and frequently exhausting the entire charge.
A few steps we can take to avoid early battery degradation are:
1 – Give a break to your EV before initiating a Charging Session
If you have stopped for fast charging on the highway after a long drive, allow your EV to cool down before plugging it for fast charging. It will prevent heat buildup during charging.
2- Review Charging Patterns
Avoid consecutive fast charging. Fast charging, though convenient, can be stressful for the battery if done regularly. When possible, choose home or office AC charging. Ensure daily/ alternate home charging as per requirement and reside to Fast charging when urgent. Such optimization of charging patterns can increase battery health.
3- Maintain minimum battery
Do not let your EV battery run below 20% charge. Reaching an available EV Charging Station and initiating charging before it reaches zero helps the battery charge easily pick up and eventually avoid batteries detonation. You can check Charging Apps like Statiq to find available Charging Stations on your path.
4- Explore Regenerative Braking
Use regenerative braking as it helps recover energy and extend your driving range. Accelerating slowly, maintaining a consistent speed, and easing into stops maximizes your battery range.
5- Plan before taking a long route
Well-planned trips can minimize the need for frequent fast charging. Also, we can combine meals, shopping time, and overnight stay at hotels as per the charging need and expected duration. Statiq has EV Charging Stations installed on Highways, and we can check the available amenities with their photos in the Statiq Charging App.
By following these steps, you can enjoy a long-lasting battery life, improved efficiency, and a smooth driving experience. Adopt the above charging practices and take advantage of this environmentally friendly mode of transportation.
