EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a sponsored post from FleetCarma, a connected car technology provider specializing in plug-in electric vehicle applications.
Those of us who own an electric vehicle know that it’s a fantastic experience. EVs show what technological innovation can do, and are becoming increasingly popular as additional models and options hit the market. Millennials love the tech, Gen X-ers love the environmental benefits, and retiring Boomers love upgrading their family vehicle to a shiny new model that’s all torque.
Mass market adoption of electric vehicles seems to be on the horizon, as nearly all major vehicle manufacturers have been announcing new electric models. But on what horizon? It seems that the mass market needs more proof to adopt EVs. Consumer confidence in plug-in electric vehicles will be a large driver to mass adoption. In this article, we examine one of the most critical elements of consumer confidence – the vehicle’s battery health over time.
As mass market consumers think about purchasing an EV, they will surely ask, “How long will the battery last and how much will it cost me to replace it?” Typically, you won’t get a true answer but manufacturers are happy to offer you an extended, limited 8-year warranty instead. However, as more EVs enter the used car market, these questions will persist. Understanding your vehicle’s battery health will help you to build confidence in the vehicle’s ability to do the job, whether you intend to keep the vehicle for a while, sell it after a few years, or buy a used one.
What is battery health?
Battery state-of-charge (SOC) refers to the amount of usable energy currently stored in the battery (i.e. how full is the tank?), whereas battery state-of-health (SOH) is a measure of the battery’s performance relative to a brand new one of the same make, model, and year. The health of your battery is a measure of if and how much its performance may have degraded over time. When considering battery degradation, FleetCarma has a connected car platform which collects data from the vehicle to show EV owners how their vehicle’s battery is holding up by evaluating two primary factors: (1) capacity fade and (2) power fade.
EV owners in New York can get access to their battery health score now through the SmartCharge New York program, which also offers EV owners rewards for charging overnight.
Since most EVs use lithium ion batteries, capacity loss is generally caused from the loss of active lithium in the battery pack – resulting in less energy stored. Imagine you have a glass of beer and the entire glass represents the battery. When that entire glass is filled with a golden lager ready for enjoyment, you can imagine this as a new and healthy battery. Now, imagine the same glass, but filled with 70% golden lager and 30% white foam. Only 70% of the glass capacity is filled with “useable” beer. This is a fun (and depending on your taste, delicious) way to think about the concept of capacity loss.
By contrast, power fade refers lost ability to output power. Keeping with the beer metaphor, imagine a bottle of beer with a lime wedged in the spout. The slice of lime will cause some resistance in the flow of beer from leaving the bottle. Maybe this is fine on a beach vacation, but much less desirable in the world of electric mobility and battery performance.
A project with EV owners conducted by FleetCarma showed battery degradation is most likely in extreme climate conditions of older vehicles – although there are many confounding variables that drive health scores. EV owners in the project were provided small connected car devices to help them learn about their vehicle. The objective of the project was to make EV data more accessible, comparable, and shareable for this community of EV drivers.
For the past few years, FleetCarma has been working with electric utilities to provide EV owners with feedback on how they charge and how their vehicle’s battery health compares to others. The newest of such programs is one recently launched called SmartCharge New York, where EV owners can receive FleetCarma connected EV devices for free and also earn financial rewards for charging their vehicles during off-peak times.
If you happen to be in New York and want to check out the program, feel free to visit the registration page at: fleetcarma.com/smartchargenewyork.