For the entry-level rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3 with the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, one of the best ways to minimize battery degradation, according to Tesla, is to fully...
Looking in TeslaFi, Leaderboard, for highest Odometer readings for a 55 kWh LFP car, I found that user "Flinchy" has now done 132,000 miles, in a similar age car, and has only lost 4.88% of range. That result seems to suggest that LFP battery suffers more from calendar aging rather cyclical charging aging?? What are other LFP users finding?
Tesla Model 3 with an LFP battery can''t keep its 12-volt Li-Ion charged due to a calibration issue. Tesla moved to solve this problem with a software update autoevolution
A new study from a Tesla-funded lab found that LFP batteries degrade faster when fully charged. Repeated charging at a higher state of charge increases negative reactions within a pack.
Electric vehicles powered by lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are gaining popularity worldwide. Compared to traditional nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries, LFP packs are cheaper to produce, pose a lower fire risk and offer greater longevity. However, they''re less energy-dense, which is why automakers typically use LFP batteries in entry-level models like the rear-wheel-drive Tesla Model 3, the base Ford Mustang Mach-Eand the Dual Standard second-gen Rivian R1S among others.
Automakers say it''s best to charge your vehicle''s LFP battery to a 100% periodically, at least once a week in case of Tesla or once a month as per Ford. This helps with pack calibration, allowing you to have a more accurate range reading on your gauge cluster every time you get behind the wheel. They also recommend doing this to preserve battery health and avoid reduced performance.
That''s the exact opposite for NMC packs—offered on most EVs like Long Range Teslas—where manufacturers suggest setting a limit of 80-90% for daily charging. Charging them to a 100% can reduce the pack''s capacity to hold energy over time. This mainly happens because battery longevity is negatively associated with heat and voltage. The higher the state of charge, the more the voltage and heat in the pack which accelerates degradation.
However, a new study published last week in the Journal Of Electrochemical Society contradicts what automakers have been saying about LFP charging patterns. The study states that repeated charging cycles at a higher state of charge can harm LFP cells over time. The study specifies how this happens on the most granular level. But kudos to r Jason Fenske of Engineering Explained for breaking it down for us.
Researchers found that keeping LFP batteries fully charged creates harmful compounds in the pack from high voltage and heat. As you cycle the pack frequently—meaning discharging and charging fully—these harmful compounds deposit onto the negative electrode, consuming lithium, causing degradation. "At higher SoC, there''s higher voltage, negative reactions recurring within the electrolyte get accelerated, consuming the lithium inventory," authors said.
If you''re not driving your EV for extended periods, leaving the battery in a lower state of charge can help, as reduced voltage doesn''t harm in the long run. "Cycling near the top of charge (75–100% SoC) is detrimental to LFP/graphite cells. Our results show a correlation between the average SoC of battery operation and capacity fade rate, meaning that the lower the average SoC, the longer the lifetime," the study stated. "Therefore, the time spent cycling at high states of charge is critical to minimize."
Among the study''s authors was Dr. Jeff Dahn, an award-winning battery researcher who runs the Tesla-funded Jeff Dahn Research Group. Dahn''s lab is one of Tesla''s lesser known weapons. It helped the brand master the NMC chemistry. Electric Autonomy Canada toured the Tesla-funded lab in Dalhousie University in Canada last year. The outlet described the relationship between Tesla and the Dahn Research Group as "a yin and yang dynamic. One is a fast-moving, ever-hungry business. The other a slow-moving, diligent academic lab."
Still, it has some flaws. The study states that a 0-25% charging cycle elongates battery life. That seems pointless in terms of convenience for everyday users, especially if you don''t have a home or office charger and rely on public charging. The study focuses solely on battery longevity, not overall best charging practices. It leaves out what''s best for the broader EV-buying audience, like specific use cases, convenience, charging times and more. So it''s still advisable to follow your automaker''s recommendations.
A higher charge is beneficial in most cases, like road-tripping, during power outages if you need vehicle-to-home charging, during winter when range loss is accelerated or simply for the peace of mind. Plus, modern batteries last hundreds of thousands of miles even with bad charging practices. It''s one of the reasons brands offer long warranties on them. That''s not to diminish the study, which still accomplishes the all-important task of discovering more facets of what is still a relatively new technology.
Above all, the authors don''t recommend changing your charging habits. "How practical is it to cycle a battery cell in only low SoC ranges? There is clearly a tradeoff between useful capacity and capacity retention It is not realistic to recommend cycling LFP cells between 0%–25% SoC only, because that is a waste of capacity."
Batteries lose capacity over time. The process can be slowed down, but it''s inevitable, so after a few years, your EV won''t provide quite as much range as when it was new. The battery will lose about 12% of its capacity in a Tesla due to degradation after 200,000 miles.
For the Model 3, for instance, Tesla says that up to 30% degradation is normal after 8 years or 120,000 miles driven. Interestingly, many owners who like to keep track of their car''s battery degradation note that the first 5% of capacity vanishes quite quickly, sometimes within the first year and a half, depending on how the vehicle is used. However, it takes much longer for the battery to lose another 5%, at least in a non-LFP-equipped Tesla.
To calculate how much capacity a Tesla has lost, you have to find out how much energy its battery can still store and then compare that to the battery''s official quoted capacity. The only problem is that Tesla is one of the few manufacturers that doesn''t list the exact number of kilowatt hours for its vehicles, so you must find alternative sources that list the capacity.
When trying to find the capacity of a given Tesla battery pack, it''s worth noting that some sources list the gross or total capacity, which includes the buffer. In contrast, others only list the usable capacity, which is smaller and doesn''t include the buffer. For instance, the new 2024 Tesla Model 3 Long Range Dual Motor battery has a gross capacity of 78.1 kWh and a net capacity of 75 kWh, which means it has a 3.1 kWh buffer.
So, how do you calculate battery degradation in your Tesla? The simplest way would be to charge it a set percentage (80% or 100%) and compare the range estimate to what it offered when new (assuming you kept track of that). However, this will just give you a rough idea of how much capacity it still has, and there are ways to get a more accurate result.
You can more accurately calculate degradation using figures from the vehicle''s energy screen. It shows a graph of the vehicle''s energy consumption and its projected range. You can use these two figures plus the battery state of charge percentage displayed in the top right corner of the screen to check how much current the battery still holds—this saves you from having to charge to 100% when you want to do this calculation.
You multiply the average electricity consumption, which by default is displayed in watt-hours per mile, by the projected range, and you should get the number of kilowatt-hours currently in the battery. Then you convert the battery percentage into a decimal— 80% becomes 0.8—and then you divide your resulting kilowatt-hours by this decimal to get a pretty good idea of how many kilowatt-hours your battery could theoretically hold when fully charged.
There are also apps like TeslaFi that track your vehicle''s charging stats, and you can see how the vehicle''s range is affected by degradation over time. You can even check out the TeslaFi portal, where you can see results from app users and see what kind of range difference they observed—it shows the first and last charging sessions that went over 80% and the predicted range for each.
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