How to Maximize Your EV’s Battery Life

The most significant and important feature of any electric vehicle is its battery. These are some ways to maximize your EV’s battery life.

The battery of any electric vehicle is the heart of the entire operation. This is the proverbial gas tank of the vehicle, holding the electric charge until it needs to be used by the electric motors. The most expensive component in any EV to replace is the battery, which means you want to get as much out of this item as you can.

Here are some tips to maximize your EV’s battery life.

1. Zero and 100 are your enemies

If you want to protect the life of your vehicle’s battery, avoid running the battery below 10%, and when charging, don’t charge it above 80% or 90% on a regular basis. This habit will protect your battery from deep discharging, which can reduce its life because deep discharging is not good for lithium-ion particles. This also means you should limit the number of times you use fast charging stations, instead choosing Level 2 charging as often as possible.

2. Avoid extreme temperatures, if possible

The outside temperatures that you drive in aren’t under your control, but you can control the temperatures around your electric vehicle when it’s stored in your garage. Excessive cold or heat forces your EV to work harder, thus causing your battery to deplete sooner. If you want to maximize your EV’s battery life, try to keep the temperature around your vehicle as consistent as possible. It’s also a good idea to allow your EV to cool before charging to help make the battery last longer.

3. Lower the maximum charging limit to 80%

Lowering the maximum charging limit to 80% means you won’t have 100% of the battery capacity at your disposal, but you’ll avoid paying the high price to replace the battery pack much sooner than you should have to. This limit should be ideal for normal commuting periods and protect your battery from being overly charged or discharged. The sweet spot for these lithium-ion batteries is between 20% and 80%. Until solid-state batteries are available, this is where you need to keep your EV charged.

4. Avoid heavy acceleration

You want to get the most out of your battery and maximize your EV’s battery life. This can be done if you drive conservatively. Much like a gas-powered car, if you avoid heavy acceleration and maintain a consistent speed during your drive, you’ll get the most miles out of your battery charge and enjoy the longevity it provides your EV. When driving an electric vehicle, it can be tempting to accelerate quickly because these vehicles have instant access to the entire torque band, which allows them to accelerate quickly from a stop.

5. Prepare for non-commuting drives

You can take your electric vehicle on a road trip, but it will probably take a lot longer than it would if you drive a gas-powered vehicle. This is one time when you should charge your battery to 100% of its capacity before the trip because you’ll likely use DC fast charging during your drive, which will stop at 80% of the full charge. As long as you reserve this type of charging for road trips, the battery should last a long time.

6. Drive your EV regularly

Electric vehicles that remain unused for prolonged periods can experience severe battery life issues, including loss of range. If you want to maximize your EV’s battery life, you need to drive your electric car. Regular use within the limits of EV performance will keep your battery healthy and protect the driving range for much longer. Eventually, all electric batteries lose some performance, which can result in lowered driving range, but driving your EV regularly can put this change off for much longer.

7. Don’t charge when you don’t need to

You don’t need to plug your battery in every night. If you park at night and have more than enough driving range for the next day, don’t plug it in. When you don’t recharge your battery every day, you can make it last much longer than when you do. If you have a relatively short commute and can go all week without recharging, that’s excellent for your battery, and it can keep running well for much longer.

Its important to maximize your EV’s battery life. This is the single-most important part of your electric vehicle and protecting is ensures many years of worry-free driving.