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DC Fast Charging, How Bad Are You Really
DC Fast Charging, How Bad Are You Really
However, this is no longer the case. Recently several research, tests and analysis with medium
term data collection has been done, to such a degree that we now do have some data to
answer this question. Yea, there could still be some nagging minor doubt here and there on
exact numbers, but in general the question can be reasonably evaluated.
In older days (about 5 years ago or more), understanding was that fast charging may damage
the battery a bit over long time but no one was sure by exactly how much by over 8-10 years of
usage, since lack of data. Nissan and Tesla both now seems to be thinking that the long term
battery degradation due to quick charging is not as bad as previously thought. Infact they now
think that the total number of miles travelled is the main factor affecting battery life than the
method of charging (L2 or L3). You can see this by comparing Nissan Leaf owners manual
(UK) in 2011 with the one they issued in 2015
Note how soft the wording in 2015 version of the manual (compared to strict warnings in
2011), also they are putting more emphasis against high temperatures instead. Nissan web
site actually goes further and even recommends fast charging.
See hereNote this section specifically.
Infact, even as early as 2012, they have got bit bolder. Speaker here isMark Perry, Nissan
North America's Director of Product Planning.
At first he uses strong assured phrases such as "Nissan is designed with fast charging in mind', "2-3 times of
fast charging daily, no problem", "car is intelligent enough to protect it self" etc but when grilled, says there
could be small percentage difference over 10 years, so the optimal is to charge up to 80% but still he
maintains there is no significant damage in 100% charging (except 'small percentages over 10 year') and go
for it if we really need it.
This is another section from the manual :
Info on charging in LEAF Owner's Manual: "Overview" / "Efficient use of your vehicle" / "Li-ion battery life"
section.
Nissan recommends:
Only charging to 80% in order to maximize battery life:
"Long life mode
NISSAN recommends charging the Li-ion battery using the long life mode to help maximize the Li-ion
battery useful life. Long life mode can only be set using the charging timer function. The long life
mode is set by changing the [% Charge] to [80% Charge (Improves Battery Longevity)] using the
following procedure."[7]
Furthermore, the LEAF's warranty includes an exclusion regarding Li-Ion battery being charged full
on a daily basis "despite the lithium-ion battery keeping a high state of charge level (98-100%)."[8]
Allow the battery charge to be below at least 80% before charging.
Avoid leaving vehicle for over 14 days where the battery charge state is zero or near zero.
Allow the vehicle and Li-ion battery to cool down after use before charging.
If vehicle will not be used for long period of time, NISSAN recommends charging with "long life mode"
(charging only to 80%, see above) and to charge once every 3 months
Here, there is an important piece. Note that the 0-80% rule is a general health guideline which is applicable
even for L2 charging! It is not associated with quick charging only.
Anyway, Nissan may be interested in its business and if the battery died after 8 years, the burden will be on
users so we need some neutral party to come up with test data. Given that it is still 5 years since the launch
of commercial level EVs, those are hard to come by.