If you’re considering buying an electric vehicle (EV) or already own one, understanding key electric vehicle battery characteristics is crucial. With a diagnostic tool like the Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV, you can easily evaluate these important battery factors. If you don’t have this tool, we recommend hiring a professional who uses the Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV for accurate diagnostics.
Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV Review
This tool allows you to assess essential aspects of your EV’s battery, including its capacity, charging time, and overall life. It also helps you understand the state of charge (SOC), depth of discharge (DOD), and the impact of temperature on battery performance. Additionally, the Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV provides insights into the battery’s chemistry and energy efficiency.
Knowing your electric vehicle battery characteristics will help you make an informed decision when purchasing an EV and ensure your current vehicle continues to perform at its best.
Table of Contents
- Electric Vehicle Battery Costs.
- Electric Vehicle Charge Capacity
- Electric Vehicle Battery Life
- Electric Vehicle Battery Energy Density.
- Electric Vehicle Battery State of Charge.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Depth of Discharge.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Voltage.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Charge Efficiency.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Temperature.
- Electric Vehicle Battery Geometry
Electric Vehicle Battery Costs.
We have a guide on understanding electric vehicle battery costs usually reported in dollars per kWh of energy storage, you need to read it and understand the factors that affect electric vehicle battery costs such as manufacturing costs and materials expenses, It is also important for you to understand the chemistry of your electric vehicle battery, and how it’s materials and auxiliary electrical components used to integrate the battery to the vehicle affect the costs, of either replacing your electric vehicle battery, maintenance or servicing.
As more people adopt electric vehicles and production volumes increase we hope to benefit from reduced costs of electric vehicle batteries due to economies of scale, it’s important to keep tabs on electric vehicle sales, and battery sales, as batteries cost reduce we expect lower-priced electric vehicles with the same range, or higher capacity battery electric vehicles for the same price if you are looking forward to purchasing or planning to purchase an electric vehicle shortly keeping tabs on electric vehicle sales, and battery sales, will allow you to purchase a high range electric vehicle or electric vehicle with the same range at a competitive price and entry.
Electric Vehicle Charge Capacity
Another important characteristic of an electric vehicle battery to know is its energy storage/ charge capacity usually reported in kWh. The higher the battery kWh the further the distance it can cover on a full charge.
Electric Vehicle Battery Life
When purchasing a used electric vehicle or when maintaining your electric vehicle it’s important to monitor your electric vehicle battery life, electric vehicle batteries tend to degrade over time as they are being charged and discharged.
Electric vehicle owners with advanced electric vehicle battery diagnostic tools such as the Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV can monitor the health of their electric vehicle batteries, some reports through this tool include thermal cell temperatures which are a result of EV charging issues or battery issues.
Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV Review
These issues when not managed or diagnosed early can lead to the deterioration of the battery components including the anode, and cathode affecting the electric vehicle battery life as more cells are affected similar to a rust infection.
Buyers looking to purchase a used electric vehicle should note that batteries with more than 80% of their original capacity are considered to be good, if you are an electric vehicle owner with an 80% electric vehicle battery life, it is time to consider replacing your EV battery, 80% doesn’t necessarily mean you are doomed, it just means you should be prepared to replace your EV battery and is used a rule of thumb.
Electric Vehicle Battery Energy Density.
There are two types of electric vehicle battery energy density that you should familiarize yourself with, the first one if specific energy (gravimetric energy density), and energy density (volumetric energy density).
The main difference between specific energy and energy density of an electric vehicle battery boils down to the amount of energy that can be stored in a battery based on mass and volume respectively.
Electric Vehicle Battery Specific Energy (Wh/kg)
Increased specific weight (Wh/kg) can let you know the craftsmanship of the battery, an increased specific weight means that more energy can be stored in a battery of the same weight allowing for increased range, or the same energy can be stored in a battery of lesser weight reducing the costs and improving the vehicle efficiency and aerodynamics.
Higher specific energy means there is a tradeoff between the power you have available for acceleration and the maximum energy stored in the battery, therefore if you are shopping for an electric race car a car with a high specific power means having a shorter range and low specific energy, and if you are looking forward to purchasing an electric vehicle that is efficient and well designed in terms of EV charging and battery configurations you might want to choose an electric vehicle with a higher specific energy.
It’s important to note that batteries with poor battery geometrics have increased weight due to the auxiliary electrical components used to integrate the battery into the electric vehicle and also improve the safety of the battery, over time batteries tend to perform poorly such as pouch batteries.
Electric Vehicle Battery Energy Density (Wh/L)
Energy density (Wh/L) on the other hand or volumetric energy density is the amount of energy stored in an electric vehicle battery of a given volume. It’s important to consider what volume is included in the calculation of the energy density reported by the electric vehicle battery diagnostic tool, it’s important to note that a significant volume of an electric vehicle battery is not devoted to energy storage but to components that integrate the electric vehicle battery to the electric vehicle, and optimization and safety components such as cooling systems.
An electric vehicle battery with an increased energy density (Wh/L) means that more energy can be stored in a battery of the same size, increasing your EV range, or the same energy can be stored in a battery of a smaller size allowing for space that can be used for other purposes such as battery safety features or cargo space.
Electric Vehicle Battery State of Charge.
The state of charge is an important characteristic of electric vehicles that is mostly important to current electric vehicle owners, the state of charge is the amount of energy that is left after using your electric vehicle, we like to call this the fuel gauge of an electric vehicle usually represented in percentage of 100% to 0%.
Knowing your electric vehicle’s state of charge is essential to knowing the health of your electric vehicle battery, and can be used to understand the range of your electric vehicle battery as the battery ages and its factory estimation are wrong.
Electric Vehicle Battery Depth of Discharge.
Electric vehicle battery depth of discharge is the opposite of the battery state of charge, it represents the percentage of battery capacity that has been used from 0% to 100%
Electric Vehicle Battery Voltage.
Your electric vehicle battery voltage is an important factor to keep monitoring, we use advanced battery monitoring tools such as Autel MaxiSys Ultra EV to check the voltage of the electric vehicle battery as it’s an important consideration when using your electric vehicle.
Each cell in your electric vehicle battery has a nominal voltage usually around 3.6V in lithium-ion battery cells, which are the most common batteries used in electric vehicles, the cells are arranged in a series to increase their voltage, at this point they are also combined in parallel to increase the available current and power output of your electric vehicle battery.
We used the advanced battery monitoring tool to check the voltage of our Tesla Model 3, it reported the battery having 96 cells in series and 46 in parallel, if there is a drop in voltage in one of the cells it might mean there are problems in your battery thermal management and its cathode or anode may be deteriorating, and might affect adjacent cells.
Electric Vehicle Battery Charge Efficiency.
A good electric vehicle battery should return 100% of the energy you put into it. However, this is not possible due to many factors, such as internal resistance and battery self-discharge. For this reason, we recommend checking your charge efficiency as the ratio of Ah you put into the amount of Ah you get out.
You can also check your electric vehicle battery energy efficiency which is the ratio of energy (Wh) you put into the battery and the amount of energy you get out of it.
We monitor battery energy charge efficiency to help diagnose problems with the battery. For example, we record and keep tabs on our battery charger’s energy efficiency and environmental conditions. If the battery reports higher discharge rates under the same conditions, it might indicate the battery is under stress through repeated deep discharging or other issues, such as thermal management issues.
Electric Vehicle Battery Temperature.
We also recommend keeping tabs on your electric vehicle battery temperature and making sure the battery is under moderate temperature, when your electric vehicle battery is stored or experiences low temperatures such as during winters they decrease its capacity and power output, on the other hand during summers if your electric vehicle battery is stored or experiences high temperatures its increases its battery lif by increasing the maximum capacity degradation over time.
Issues with battery temperatures might indicate thermal issues, mainly related to your electric vehicle battery cooling systems. In our Tesla Model 3, there are coolant lines between the cylindrical cells of the battery.
Electric Vehicle Battery Geometry
Electric vehicle battery geometry is also another important characteristic of an electrical battery that you should understand, you should understand the battery cell geometry used in your electrical battery and how it affects your electric vehicle battery design, efficiency, costs, battery life, maintenance, and servicing.
Electric vehicle batteries come in three forms, cylindrical cells, prismatic cells, and pouch cells each with its advantages and disadvantages, we recommend checking our guide on electric vehicle battery geometry to understand each battery geometry, and its positives, and negatives.
About the Author: James Ndungu
James Ndungu, founder and editor-in-chief of Electric Vehicle Geek, brings over five years of hands-on experience in Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) selection, permitting, and installation. He specializes in assisting businesses and homeowners in the United States with a seamless transition to electric vehicles.
As a certified EV charger installer and holder of advanced certifications, including the EVITP (Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Training Program), Diploma in Electric Vehicle Technology, and Diploma in Engineering Fundamentals of Electric Vehicles, I provide expert guidance and in-depth reviews on the latest EV charging equipment.
