Lithium Battery Winter Use Guide

I believe that many people have such a common sense: winter is here, but it seems that my battery is not as durable as summer. Why does the battery run out of power soon? Is my battery dead? Why can’t my battery be charged in winter?

Too many customers have consulted these questions, so I had to write a special article to explain this matter to everyone. So today, let’s talk about what happens to lithium batteries in winter? What should we pay attention to if we use lithium batteries in winter?

Before we start, I want to clarify one thing for everyone. The capacity of the battery will be significantly reduced in winter. This is not a unique phenomenon of lithium batteries. Almost all types of batteries will be affected by the extremely low temperature, resulting in a decrease in capacity. In this sense, lithium batteries have been affected. The smallest one.

As we mentioned in the previous blog, the charging and discharging of lithium batteries is actually a combination of chemical and physical processes. A battery can be composed of electrodes, separators, electrolytes, and positive and negative electrochemical materials, and charging and discharging are actually chemical oxidation-reduction reaction processes. Obviously, we don’t need to study it like a chemist, but at least we need to know the general principle.

We may all know that external loads will consume battery power. But did you also realize that the battery itself drains its own charge? The battery itself also has resistance, so when the current passes through, it will generate heat and cause energy loss.

It is a fact that the internal resistance of the battery increases to some extent as the temperature decreases. That is to say, if the ambient temperature of the battery is very low, the internal resistance of the battery will be very large. Do you think of anything when you see this? That’s right, when the temperature drops, the energy loss of the battery itself will increase. But in fact, this is only one of the reasons why the capacity of lithium batteries becomes lower in winter.

Another reason is that low temperature will affect the ion activity of cells inside the battery. In fact, the process of battery charging and discharging is inseparable from the transfer of ions inside the battery pack. When the activity of ions decreases, it means that they cannot be fully charged or discharged, which is one of the reasons.

It is worth noting that we should try to avoid charging the battery when the battery temperature is very low, because that will directly damage the battery and cause irreversible damage to the battery. As you can imagine, suppose your battery is 12.8V 100Ah, but in winter, your battery can only reach 12.8V 70Ah. And your battery BMS still thinks it is 12.8V 100Ah, if the battery is already full and you are still charging, there will exist a terrible result.

Fortunately, there are currently some manufacturers whose BMSs provide high and low temperature detection functions. Their method is usually to detect the ambient temperature through a temperature sensor (NTC). It can greatly improve the safety of lithium battery use.

However, for some customers, this feature is nothing short of a nightmare. Because they need to use the battery for charging and discharging frequently in winter, how should it be solved? A very natural thought is, can I design a heating device, if the battery temperature becomes high, can I not charge it? Indeed it is. Have you ever used an electric blanket in your home? In winter, spread it under the sheets, plug it in, and you’ll be super warm. In fact, the electric blanket is a large resistance, and the current flows to generate heat, which is the principle of the electric blanket. Similarly, we can also design this kind of heating sheet inside the battery. We only need to place the heating plate between the cells to complete the heating. Of course, we also need to prevent the temperature from being too high. The solution is also very simple. NTC can detect the actual temperature of the cell. If it reaches a certain preset value, the heating can be turned off, so that the battery can be used normally.

It is worth noting that the heating function itself also consumes power. Therefore, batteries with this function tend to consume faster power, so don’t forget to check the battery power every period of time (recommended 2-3 weeks), and charge it in time if it is lower than 50%.

Due to limited space, we will stop here today, and then we will publish more tips on lithium battery selection in the follow-up Blog, please stay tuned to JustlithiumBattery©, stay tunes!

I believe that many people have such a common sense: winter is here, but it seems that my battery is not as durable as summer. Why does the battery run out of power soon? Is my battery dead? Why can’t my battery be charged in winter?

Too many customers have consulted these questions, so I had to write a special article to explain this matter to everyone. So today, let’s talk about what happens to lithium batteries in winter? What should we pay attention to if we use lithium batteries in winter?

Before we start, I want to clarify one thing for everyone. The capacity of the battery will be significantly reduced in winter. This is not a unique phenomenon of lithium batteries. Almost all types of batteries will be affected by the extremely low temperature, resulting in a decrease in capacity. In this sense, lithium batteries have been affected. The smallest one.

As we mentioned in the previous blog, the charging and discharging of lithium batteries is actually a combination of chemical and physical processes. A battery can be composed of electrodes, separators, electrolytes, and positive and negative electrochemical materials, and charging and discharging are actually chemical oxidation-reduction reaction processes. Obviously, we don’t need to study it like a chemist, but at least we need to know the general principle.

We may all know that external loads will consume battery power. But did you also realize that the battery itself drains its own charge? The battery itself also has resistance, so when the current passes through, it will generate heat and cause energy loss.

It is a fact that the internal resistance of the battery increases to some extent as the temperature decreases. That is to say, if the ambient temperature of the battery is very low, the internal resistance of the battery will be very large. Do you think of anything when you see this? That’s right, when the temperature drops, the energy loss of the battery itself will increase. But in fact, this is only one of the reasons why the capacity of lithium batteries becomes lower in winter.

Another reason is that low temperature will affect the ion activity of cells inside the battery. In fact, the process of battery charging and discharging is inseparable from the transfer of ions inside the battery pack. When the activity of ions decreases, it means that they cannot be fully charged or discharged, which is one of the reasons.

It is worth noting that we should try to avoid charging the battery when the battery temperature is very low, because that will directly damage the battery and cause irreversible damage to the battery. As you can imagine, suppose your battery is 12.8V 100Ah, but in winter, your battery can only reach 12.8V 70Ah. And your battery BMS still thinks it is 12.8V 100Ah, if the battery is already full and you are still charging, there will exist a terrible result.

Fortunately, there are currently some manufacturers whose BMSs provide high and low temperature detection functions. Their method is usually to detect the ambient temperature through a temperature sensor (NTC). It can greatly improve the safety of lithium battery use.

However, for some customers, this feature is nothing short of a nightmare. Because they need to use the battery for charging and discharging frequently in winter, how should it be solved? A very natural thought is, can I design a heating device, if the battery temperature becomes high, can I not charge it? Indeed it is. Have you ever used an electric blanket in your home? In winter, spread it under the sheets, plug it in, and you’ll be super warm. In fact, the electric blanket is a large resistance, and the current flows to generate heat, which is the principle of the electric blanket. Similarly, we can also design this kind of heating sheet inside the battery. We only need to place the heating plate between the cells to complete the heating. Of course, we also need to prevent the temperature from being too high. The solution is also very simple. NTC can detect the actual temperature of the cell. If it reaches a certain preset value, the heating can be turned off, so that the battery can be used normally.

It is worth noting that the heating function itself also consumes power. Therefore, batteries with this function tend to consume faster power, so don’t forget to check the battery power every period of time (recommended 2-3 weeks), and charge it in time if it is lower than 50%.

Due to limited space, we will stop here today, and then we will publish more tips on lithium battery selection in the follow-up Blog, please stay tuned to JustlithiumBattery©, stay tunes!