Electric vehicles are very convenient means of transportation, but the battery of electric vehicles is not durable, which has become a problem for many car owners. When replacing the battery, businesses often falsely advertise and expand the battery's service life, promoting batteries that can be used for 3-5 years, up to a maximum of two years. So, how many years can electric vehicle batteries last? Industry insiders tell you the real usage time and refuse to be fooled by merchants.

How many years can lead-acid batteries last?
The service life of a battery is related to its number of charge and discharge cycles. Although lead-acid batteries have a charge and discharge cycle of 350-400 times, in reality, if they are charged and discharged more than 100 times during use, the battery capacity will shrink by about 15%.

For example, a 48V20Ah battery can generally travel 50-60 kilometers. After 100 cycles of charging and discharging, it can only travel 40-50 kilometers. After more than 200 cycles of charging and discharging, the range is only half of the original, and there will be a significant decrease in winter.

That is to say, if you charge every three days, the battery capacity will shrink by about 15% in about a year. After two years, the battery capacity will only be about 50%, and it is necessary to replace the battery. If you charge every two days, the battery can only be used for a little over a year.

Although some businesses promote graphene batteries as more durable, with a charge discharge cycle of 500-800 times, the addition of graphene coating inside the battery only reduces its internal resistance and improves charging speed. At the same time, the thickness of the battery plates is thicker, so the service life has not been significantly improved.

How many years can lithium batteries last?
The charging and discharging cycles of lithium batteries are relatively high, with lithium iron phosphate reaching around 2000 cycles. According to official claims, it can achieve a service life of 5-6 years. However, in actual use, the charging and discharging cycles are within 1000 cycles, and the stability of lithium batteries is good without significant capacity loss.

But when the number of charge and discharge cycles exceeds 1000, the capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries will "plummet", which means that in about 2-3 years, lithium iron phosphate batteries will no longer be used.

Simply put, the capacity of a lithium iron phosphate battery can maintain over 90% in the first two years, but from the third year onwards, it rapidly drops to 75-80%, and in the fourth year, it rapidly drops to below 70%, by which time the warranty period has already expired.

Several fatal misconceptions that affect battery life
When using batteries, it is important to pay attention to the following points to effectively extend their lifespan.

Temperature has a significant impact on batteries

The temperature has a significant impact on batteries, especially lead-acid batteries. When charged at temperatures above 35 ℃ in summer, the evaporation rate of the electrolyte will increase by three times. Therefore, it is more suitable to find a cool and ventilated environment for charging;

In the cold winter, the capacity of the battery will decrease with the decrease of temperature, and at -10 ℃, the discharge capacity will directly cut in half;

Do not discharge deeply

When using an electric vehicle, if the battery level drops, it is important to charge it promptly and avoid deep discharge. If a lead-acid battery is deeply discharged, it can accelerate the vulcanization of the electrode plates, which can cause irreversible damage and shorten its service life.

In addition, after deep discharge, if the battery is not charged for a long time, it will starve to death and cannot be recharged when used again.

Do not use fast charging

Lead acid batteries do not support fast charging, which can cause fatal damage to the battery and have a significant impact on its lifespan.

In addition, it is best not to use fast charging for lithium batteries, as a single fast charge can cause battery damage equivalent to three standard slow charges. At the same time, frequent use of fast charging may accelerate dendrite growth inside the battery cell, leading to short circuits.

Do not frequently overload

When using an electric bike, do not overload. If you frequently exceed the weight limit, it will accelerate battery damage. Electric bikes involve driving 75 kilograms, and if it exceeds 50%, the daily battery loss will increase by 8%.