Advert
Electric car batteries will naturally degrade over time. Every time you drive your car and charge it, this will impact the battery. But there are things you can do to help preserve the life of your battery and reduce degradation.
Here we’ll look at all things battery life and answer some of your most frequently asked questions.
On average, you can expect your EV battery to last over 10 years or 100,000 miles of driving. Remember, this is just an estimate with a number of other factors impacting battery life, including:
So, why do EV batteries degrade? Most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which degrade over hundreds of charge cycles and use cycles. The more you use your EV and the more you charge it, the more pressure it puts on the battery – which will naturally degrade over time. It’s the same concept as the battery in your smartphone for example.
The good thing is that battery degradation doesn’t have a big impact on the performance of your EV when it comes to acceleration or cruising ability. It will lessen the range over time, but even this doesn’t have a huge impact. There are many examples of older Teslas with other 200,000 miles on the clock that are still running today.
To help preserve your battery and reduce degradation, there are a number of things you can do, including:
Yes, you can recycle EV batteries, but it’s not just a case of taking them to the local tip. You don’t want to tamper with the battery yourself as messing with high voltage electricity systems could be fatal. This would have to be handled by the manufacturer.
As we already mentioned, most electric cars are made with lithium-ion batteries. These can easily be recycled, but they must be handled with care by specialists. This is because they contain toxins that can be harmful if not handled correctly.
First, contact your council or search online for a local place that recycles them. This would likely be a waste management centre or a specialist company. Much the same as normal hazardous waste, you can’t dispose of old batteries in a standard recycling centre. You must do it properly.
Once you’ve found a centre, speak to them first and see if they have any specific requirements. This could include draining the battery first, although some may accept full or partially charged batteries.
Most old EV batteries aren’t scarped and instead are used for domestic or commercial energy storage, such as retaining the electricity produced by home solar panels during the daytime for release at night.
It’s important to recycle old EV batteries to:
If your EV battery has degraded over time and is impacting the performance of your EV, speak to the manufacturer. Most EVs have seven to eight year warranties, so the manufacturer should replace the battery for you if it’s still within warranty.
Outside your warranty, the cost of EV battery replacement can be as much as £7,000. Often, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to replace the battery after eight years or so, as the technology moves on so quickly.
Now you know what there is to know about EV batteries and degradation, make sure you follow the above driving tips to extend the life of your car’s battery.
To help you find out more about electric vehicles, you’ll find plenty of guidance and advice at Green Car Guide. Take a look at our electric car news, EV buying guides, in-depth EV features, and impartial electric car reviews. Sign up to our mailing list to be kept up to date on new developments and articles.
We drive a Tesla Model S with 260,000 miles on the clock
