Now that winter is here, I am trying to figure out the best battery management during the cold winter months.
My aim is to reduce the wear and tear on the battery when charing and discharging and therefore resulting in longer life all while minimizing energy use.
I am not an expert in battery technology but understand the concepts very well, so please correct me where needed.
Assumptions:
It is not good for the battery to be charged or drained when temps are cold.
The colder the battery the worse the wear when charging/draining.
Observations:
When you start charging the battery when cold, you can see how many miles/hr the car is charing which is very close to the number of miles/hr when warm, therfore the battery does not have a great amount of heating while charing (remember amperage is always constant).
Goal:
Always try to charge the battery when warm and drive when the battery is warm.
Recommended Charging Process:
Here is my recommended process on how to charge in cold temps for someone who has a regular 9-5 Monday to Friday work week:
When you arrive home at the end of the work day the battery is probably warm, so this would be the best time to start charging. Before you leave for work in the morning you will also want the battery to be warm so turn on the climate control to 65 degrees prior to driving. This is the minimum temp you can set to heat the cabin but the battery will also be warmed. The electricity for this heat will not be drawn from the battery but will be drawn from shore power.
Using this process will charge the battery when warm and heat it without drawing power from the batteries when cold.
Non-Recommended Charging Processes:
1) Schedule the charge so it comes on early morning and finishes when you are about to drive, leaving the battery warm for driving.
The problem here is when the scheduled charging starts the battery will be cold which is not good.
2) Reduce the amperage and charge all evening and all night so the battery is warm both at the start of charge and start of your drive.
The problem here is now you are wasting energy keeping the battery warm all night.
Questions:
To understand a little more about the battery technology I would like help in answering the following questions and maybe change my charging recommendation:
1) What is the optimal battery temperature for minimal wear when charging.
2) What is the optimal battery temperature for minimal wear when driving.
3) I assume when driving, the use of the battery creates warmth because of inefficiencies. Below what outside temperature will the battery need extra heat to keep it warm?
4) Why does the Miles/Hr charging rate not go down when cold, I would assume some of the energy would need to be for heating the battery and would reflect in a lower Miles/Hr rate?
5) There are 2 ways to heat the battery; heat the cabin or start charging. I assume that heating the cabin will heat the battery faster. Is this really true? (Even if it isn't, it does not affect my charging process above).
My aim is to reduce the wear and tear on the battery when charing and discharging and therefore resulting in longer life all while minimizing energy use.
I am not an expert in battery technology but understand the concepts very well, so please correct me where needed.
Assumptions:
It is not good for the battery to be charged or drained when temps are cold.
The colder the battery the worse the wear when charging/draining.
Observations:
When you start charging the battery when cold, you can see how many miles/hr the car is charing which is very close to the number of miles/hr when warm, therfore the battery does not have a great amount of heating while charing (remember amperage is always constant).
Goal:
Always try to charge the battery when warm and drive when the battery is warm.
Recommended Charging Process:
Here is my recommended process on how to charge in cold temps for someone who has a regular 9-5 Monday to Friday work week:
When you arrive home at the end of the work day the battery is probably warm, so this would be the best time to start charging. Before you leave for work in the morning you will also want the battery to be warm so turn on the climate control to 65 degrees prior to driving. This is the minimum temp you can set to heat the cabin but the battery will also be warmed. The electricity for this heat will not be drawn from the battery but will be drawn from shore power.
Using this process will charge the battery when warm and heat it without drawing power from the batteries when cold.
Non-Recommended Charging Processes:
1) Schedule the charge so it comes on early morning and finishes when you are about to drive, leaving the battery warm for driving.
The problem here is when the scheduled charging starts the battery will be cold which is not good.
2) Reduce the amperage and charge all evening and all night so the battery is warm both at the start of charge and start of your drive.
The problem here is now you are wasting energy keeping the battery warm all night.
Questions:
To understand a little more about the battery technology I would like help in answering the following questions and maybe change my charging recommendation:
1) What is the optimal battery temperature for minimal wear when charging.
2) What is the optimal battery temperature for minimal wear when driving.
3) I assume when driving, the use of the battery creates warmth because of inefficiencies. Below what outside temperature will the battery need extra heat to keep it warm?
4) Why does the Miles/Hr charging rate not go down when cold, I would assume some of the energy would need to be for heating the battery and would reflect in a lower Miles/Hr rate?
5) There are 2 ways to heat the battery; heat the cabin or start charging. I assume that heating the cabin will heat the battery faster. Is this really true? (Even if it isn't, it does not affect my charging process above).