Another Consideration for Battery Life??

[RegGuheert]

If you have such information, please provide the references and information.

You should never charge a Li-ion battery which is very cold, as it will destroy the battery. As a result, it is important to have the cold-weather package in very cold temperatures. Here is a pertinent quote from Battery University:

Many battery users are unaware that consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries cannot be charged below 0°C (32°F). Although the pack appears to be charging normally, plating of metallic lithium can occur on the anode during a subfreezing charge. The plating is permanent and cannot be removed with cycling. Batteries with lithium plating are known to be more vulnerable to failure if exposed to vibration or other stressful conditions. Advanced chargers, such as those made by Cadex, prevent charging Li-ion below freezing.

 

[TimLee]

If you have such information, please provide the references and information.

You should never charge a Li-ion battery which is very cold, as it will destroy the battery. As a result, it is important to have the cold-weather package in very cold temperatures. Here is a pertinent quote from Battery University:

Many battery users are unaware that consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries cannot be charged below 0°C (32°F). Although the pack appears to be charging normally, plating of metallic lithium can occur on the anode during a subfreezing charge. The plating is permanent and cannot be removed with cycling. Batteries with lithium plating are known to be more vulnerable to failure if exposed to vibration or other stressful conditions. Advanced chargers, such as those made by Cadex, prevent charging Li-ion below freezing.

Thank you, very good information. I was aware that charging at low temperature is the main concern.
Is there information though, that just dropping to extremely low temperature (without charging) can physically damage the battery?
Is a bit surprising that Nissan cold weather package only energizes at -4F and turns off at 14F, if sub 32F charging is highly detrimental? :?
My garage has a fairly common situation of attic above it, and the builder did not insulate the ceiling above the garage.
Good in that the garage usually stays >32F even with outside 0F weather (although haven't seen that in TN in over 5 years).
Bad in the summer though. I'm considering putting a large reversible efficient ventilation fan in the garage ceiling to keep the garage at outside ambient in summer with outside air coming in through screened garage window. Reverse flow in winter might help heat the garage, although probably not much help on a very cold day.

 

[RegGuheert]

Is there information though, that just dropping to extremely low temperature (without charging) can physically damage the battery?

I do not know, but how would someone know not to charge the battery? And if they did know, what use would the car be if you couldn't charge the battery without damaging it?

Is a bit surprising that Nissan cold weather package only energizes at -4F and turns off at 14F, if sub 32F charging is highly detrimental? :?

It's a good question, but I don't know the answer. I will guess that there are differences in the chemistries, but I will also guess that this plating phenomenon probably starts at temperatures above -4F in the LEAF, but gets worse at colder temperatures. Likely Nissan made an engineering tradeoff between protecting the battery from cold charging and protecting the battery from being discharged too often in cold weather.

My garage has a fairly common situation of attic above it, and the builder did not insulate the ceiling above the garage. Good in that the garage usually stays >32F even with outside 0F weather

Our garage is fully insulated plus there are a refrigerator and freezer in there so it usually stays above freezing like yours does (unless we leave the door open).

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

If you have such information, please provide the references and information.

You should never charge a Li-ion battery which is very cold, as it will destroy the battery. As a result, it is important to have the cold-weather package in very cold temperatures. Here is a pertinent quote from Battery University:

Many battery users are unaware that consumer-grade lithium-ion batteries cannot be charged below 0°C (32°F). Although the pack appears to be charging normally, plating of metallic lithium can occur on the anode during a subfreezing charge. The plating is permanent and cannot be removed with cycling. Batteries with lithium plating are known to be more vulnerable to failure if exposed to vibration or other stressful conditions. Advanced chargers, such as those made by Cadex, prevent charging Li-ion below freezing.

Thank you, very good information. I was aware that charging at low temperature is the main concern.
Is there information though, that just dropping to extremely low temperature (without charging) can physically damage the battery?
Is a bit surprising that Nissan cold weather package only energizes at -4F and turns off at 14F, if sub 32F charging is highly detrimental? :?
My garage has a fairly common situation of attic above it, and the builder did not insulate the ceiling above the garage.
Good in that the garage usually stays >32F even with outside 0F weather (although haven't seen that in TN in over 5 years).
Bad in the summer though. I'm considering putting a large reversible efficient ventilation fan in the garage ceiling to keep the garage at outside ambient in summer with outside air coming in through screened garage window. Reverse flow in winter might help heat the garage, although probably not much help on a very cold day.

i did a few tests of the AV QC in Tumwater and have data that shows up to a 20-25% slowdown of charging with temps in the 20's. my LEAF was probably only acclimated to the mid to low 30's at the most.

average charge time from ~20 to 80% (per station!) in Summer; 26-28 minutes

In Winter; 34-37 minutes. Winter temps varied from generally mid 30's (20's happens but is very rare here. FYI; we had ZERO snowfall this past Winter. not all that untypical...probably the 5th or 6th time in 25 years living here) to upper 40's

Summer is low 70's to mid 80's (our hottest month August has average high of 78) but this Summer has already been the hottest early Summer I can remember. We had most of May with temps in 70's which is COMPLETELY unheard of around here.

other thing to think about; battery temps lag ambient by quite a bit. if you park outside overnight, then they can be used for reference but if garaged, its a completely different story. In my cold weather tests, I charged near the end of the day allowing usually at least 8 hours of "outside exposure" first.

I do have the advantage that it is not unusual here to have less than a 5º difference from high to low in a 24 hour period in Winter

 

[surfingslovak]

Is there information though, that just dropping to extremely low temperature (without charging) can physically damage the battery?

I do not know, but how would someone know not to charge the battery? And if they did know, what use would the car be if you couldn't charge the battery without damaging it?

The BMS can take care of that. Owners in Norway reported that regen was severely limited or nonexistent when driving with a cold battery. It gradually came back as the battery warmed up. Like Dave mentioned above, the BMS can limit or block stationary charging as well. And the same type of behavior was observed at very high battery temperatures.