Optimizing battery life

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TAMU_FFE

Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2017
Messages
5
Any tips on getting the best longevity out of EV batteries? I’ve been reading up on the Battery University website and, though it seems more so tailored for laptop & cell phone batteries, my application is as follows:

-Only charging to 85%, unless the extra range will be needed
-Timing charge to finish reasonably close to time of use
-Charging to 100% once every three months for battery balancing
-Efficient driving style and route choices to lessen average depth of discharge
-Garage storage to mitigate temperature extremes

Any others?

I’ve read conflicting information on how charging rates affect longevity. Conventional wisdom seems to be that lower voltage leads to a longer battery life, but a Battery University study seemed to show that the increased charge time of low voltage charging may be more harmful than the increased temperature of mid-voltage charges. Anyone have personal insight into this? I’m deciding between installing a 16A charger and a 32A charger.

What kind of battery degradation have you seen over the years?
 
For the FFE you don't really have to worry about charging only to 85% Ford put a buffer in so that 100% charge on the dash is only about 90% charge on the battery to begin with.

I had my FFE for 3 years and almost 40,000 miles with no noticeable battery fade.

Your best bet is to use the charge location feature and set it up manually to be fully charged right before you leave every day (that minimizes the amount of time the battery does stay at 100%). Then just drive the car normally. (I had my FFE setup so that it was fully charged 30-60 minutes before I left for work every day--I figured weekend use wouldn't matter as much so I would just let it charge to full all the time on the weekends (which had the most unpredictable driving anyway)).

(e.g. if you have the newer FFE with the larger battery and your commute would allow you to charge every other day that may be better than charging to full every night, however not using as deep a discharge every day may offer some benefit as well).
 
Very helpful- thanks jmueller. Just signed the papers on a new FFE, and it should be delivered in about 10 days.

My commute is 35 miles round trip so I could easily make a charge last two days, but- you’re right- the deep average discharge might offset the gains of fewer charges.
 
TAMU_FFE said:
Jmueller- what amperage charging system do you use?
I used two different EVSE's at my house: an old Bosch unit originally designed for the Volt but did have a 30+ amp setting (I think I leave it set to 35 amps @ 240V) and a JuiceBox Premium (on the menu you can adjust the current--I also leave that around 35 amps).

Right now my C-Max (returned my FFE at the end of its lease almost two years ago) can't consume that kind of current as it doesn't have the charge capability the FFE did.
 
TAMU_FFE even charging at the max onboard rate 6.6kW (~28A@240V) is still "slow" in battery terms. if you have a 23kWh FFE it's just over 1/4C and if you have the newer 33.5kWh battery it's about 1/5C.
 
jmueller065 said:
For the FFE you don't really have to worry about charging only to 85% Ford put a buffer in so that 100% charge on the dash is only about 90% charge on the battery to begin with.

I'm new to FFE but have analyzed the heck out of the pack in our Leaf and I do doubt that there's 10% headspace in the FFE batter above a full charge. There may be 10% total, but some of that would be reserved on the bottom as well as the top. The Leaf has about 4% on top and about 3% on the bottom.

I also would argue that always charging to 100% would be mostly ok, so long as you don't let it sit at 100% for extended periods of time.
 
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