Full Guide to Your Electric Car Battery

At the core of every EV is the electric car battery. It’s important to understand how this technology works as it's a vital part of your car. So we’ve put together this handy guide to explain the ins and outs of electric car batteries, like how they work, different types and best practices to prolong their life. Explore below to find out more about your electric car battery or get in touch with your local Pentagon dealership to learn more.

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The electric battery stores energy to power your car. When this energy is used up, the battery needs to be recharged. Much like how you need to fill your tank when your petrol is low.

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are the most commonly used battery type, with electric cars using a large pack of these Li-ion cells to create the battery pack. Thousands of these Li-ion cells work together to power the motor by producing electricity.

EV charge cycles

All Li-ion batteries go through the charge/discharge cycle. The more times your Li-ion battery undergoes this cycle, the less charge that the battery can hold. But don’t worry, as it will be years before you start to see any difference in charge capacity (most brands offer a warranty of around eight years.)

There are also a few clever tricks that manufacturers use to ensure the longevity of your electric car battery. This includes a technique known as “buffering” where the car doesn’t allow you to use the battery’s full capacity to reduce charging cycles.

Another way that your car preserves its battery is by storing spare capacity which is used over time. This makes up for the degradation over the years so you don’t see a drop in capacity as quickly.

“WLTP range” meaning

Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure range, or WLTP range, is an accurate estimate of an electric car’s electric range, offering “uniform and realistic test conditions worldwide.”

EV range used to be based on New European Drive Cycle (NEDC) but was removed in favour of WLTP which offers more reasonable real-world estimates.

Whilst Li-Ion batteries are the most popular, there are a few other types. Below we explore a few of the batteries used in certain EVs.

One of the biggest questions around EVs is charging. It’s also one of the easiest parts of having an electric car! Charging is as simple as plugging it into a power source. You can even charge it at home with a simple three-prong plug and wall outlet, although this will take longer than with a wall box or at a charging point.

Did you know there are many locations where you can fully charge your car for free? Zap-Map surveyed all 25,000+ charging points in the UK and found 5,350 were completely free. That’s over 20% of the country’s charging points!

Places like supermarkets, car parks, car dealerships and retail centres offer these free chargers which make your life easier. Just park up, plug in and go shopping.

Not all EVs use the same type of connector between the car and the charging point and not all the plugs are compatible with all types of charging. Here is a quick run-down of what is available and what it is capable of.

Type 1; This is a relatively uncommon five-pin plug that can be found on some PHEV cars. There are also cables available that allow a Type 1 cable to connect to a Type 2 charger.

Type 2; This is the most common type of plug seen on BEVs. The seven-pin plug can also be called the Mennekes after the company that designed it and is one of the most versatile charging connections on the market.

CCS; A five-pin plug designed by major German car manufacturers. It is the most common type of charger in Europe and, whilst less common than the Type 2 in the UK, it is not particularly rare.

CHAdeMO; The name is a contraction of “Charge de Move” and the ten-pin plug was designed by Japanese car makers. This is the rapid charger that you are most likely to come across in the UK.

Commando; A three-pin charger that is able to deliver slow charging and fast charging depending on the outlet it is connected to.

3-Pin; Connects to a standard UK home socket to provide slow charging, most EVs will come with this connector as standard plus one of the above for faster charging.

There are a few things you can do to ensure your car’s electric battery lasts long and retains a larger capacity after a few years. These are very simple yet often overlooked tips that will save you money and time in the long run.

Yes, you do own the battery in an electric car. Nowadays, the majority of EVs include the battery in the price.

But back in the early days of electric vehicles, some brands used to offer a battery lease. You would own the car but lease the battery from the manufacturer in an attempt to make the purchase price look a lot more affordable.

This practice is now virtually non-existent thanks to a larger adoption of EVs and more affordable models.

Electric car batteries last rather long, especially if you take care of them. Even in the unlikely event that your battery health degrades noticeably, all EVs come with a comprehensive battery warranty.

How are EV batteries recycled? In a number of ways.

Once removed from a vehicle, electric car batteries have plenty of use left in them. Their capacity may be reduced when it comes to driving, but they still have more than enough power and capacity for other uses.

They can be used for demanding situations like working as energy storage for an electricity network. Or they can be used to power your home - something that’s likely to become more popular as this is something that’s being explored further by manufacturers.

A lot of expensive materials go into making an EV battery. So at the end of their working life, batteries are stripped down to recycle these materials. Around 50% of the materials used to make an EV battery are currently recyclable, but this is likely to increase further in line with the ever-growing popularity of EVs.

Most batteries are harmful to the environment when disposed of incorrectly. So the question is “how do you dispose of an electric car battery?”

Some parts of dead batteries are removed and refurbished to be used in other ways, including other EVs as well as other uses.

The environmental impact of electric car batteries is only improving with new advancements and the wider adoption of EVs. There are plenty of uses for EV batteries before they need to be retired and recycled.

Batteries are taken out of cars to be used elsewhere, then once fully depleted the materials are recycled to create new batteries. As electric vehicles of all types grow in popularity, so will EV batteries’ lifecycles.

Speak with a specialist to learn more about our latest electric and hybrid cars, or book a test drive at a local Pentagon dealership.