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Rechargeable batteries of most designs are pretty heat sensitive. Too hot or too cold and the maximum range of the electric vehicle suffers. The drop off can be
by giobox 9y ago
Rechargeable batteries of most designs are pretty heat sensitive. Too hot or too cold and the maximum range of the electric vehicle suffers. The drop off can be as high as 30% or so too, especially if you live somewhere with regular seasonal extreme temperatures.
This is why as well as cooling systems, some EVs even heat the battery in the cold.
The same thing affects Lithium Ion batteries in phones, cameras, laptops etc too.
- phyzome 9y agoHah, sounds kind of like LED lights -- way less waste heat, way more sensitive to what heat there is.
- derefr 9y ago> This is why as well as cooling systems, some EVs even heat the battery in the cold. IC cars have that feature too, if you live somewhere like Saskatchewan. You need to plug the heater in at night (https://info.kaltire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Jan-6-PlugIn.jpg https://info.kaltire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Jan-6-Pl...) or the battery will be too cold to start the car in the morning.
- YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y agoBlock heaters are used in somewhat milder climates as well – even though a modern ICE will start quite fine at even below -20°C (increasingly more unreliably the lower you go), doing so is somewhat harmful for the engine. (Also, by heating the engine fluids you can also blow some warmer air into the cabin to prevent the windows from frosting when you get inside – not to mention the added comfort.) Actual battery warmers are much rarer I think, but that isn't often an issue as long as you keep your battery well charged (and obviously have a more capable battery to begin with). The usual recommendation is to start using the block heater even before temperature gets below freezing (for convenience reasons not many people do so).