Is it harmful to the EV’s battery life? Does frequent fast charging create problems for the battery management system?
BHPian GS300 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
I wanted to check if we have EV owners who are exclusive fast charger users.
In other words, do we have people here who have EVs but do not have any way of slow charging at home?
We are in a situation where we were living in an independent house where we had the 7.2KW wall charger. But due to some work situation, we have to move to an apartment where there is no way to have a home charger. (It is a 20+ years old apartment – so installing a home charger is next to impossible due to many factors)
We have an MG ZS EV (2024). There are commercial chargers in the vicinity. So fast charging is not a problem.
Is it harmful to battery life? Are there any observations that frequent fast charging creates problems for battery management systems? Any other observed problems?
Any input from people who might be in a similar situation, or anyone who may have information about this, would be very helpful.
Thanks in advance.
Here’s what BHPian GTO replied:
Going against the tide. Today’s EV batteries are extremely advanced and can take consistent fast-charging. EV manufacturers know that home / slow charging isn’t possible for everyone. Not everyone can get a home charger installed, nor is the human race generally patient to slow charge at a public charger.
Even with continuous fast-charging, you will probably tire of your EV and sell it off (for an upgrade) before anything goes wrong with the battery. Tata gives EV battery warranty for 8 years, while Mahindra is giving lifetime battery warranty (first owner only) on the latest XEV & BE. How many people are going to retain an EV past 8 years? Like smartphones, 3-year-old EVs are already outdated. Newer models are far superior.
That being said, I STILL think home-charging is the best:
- Convenient. Fill up at home. Just charge it overnight once a week – that’s enough for most people.
- Fast charging is expensive, and will only get pricier with time. In many cities in USA & Europe, fast charging is either as expensive as petrol, or priced higher! Public EV chargers are going to be major profit centers. No one (government included) has installed them for charity. The cost of a fast charger runs into crores of rupees.
- Even if you can fast-charge your EV in 30 – 60 minutes, that still doesn’t account for the time to drive to that public charger, the waiting period (if someone is in front of you etc.).
- Slow charging is better for your battery.
- IMHO, every EV owner just has to have home charging. Or extremely reliable fast charging in the vicinity, where the daily running doesn’t stipulate charging more than once a week. Else, it becomes a headache.
Here’s what BHPian Sensible_Speed replied:
It is okay in the same way that it is okay to eat fried chicken at every meal. You can technically do it but to the detriment of your car battery’s health and performance. Fast charging constantly will decrease your battery life very quickly. You will see at least a 20% drop in overall capacity within a year if you exclusively use DC fast charging. It is definitely not advisable.
Look for AC chargers near your regular destinations, e.g., the office, a mall you frequent, or a weekend getaway, etc. Charging your car up while at work, or when shopping can save you time and precious battery health.
Here’s what BHPian antz.bin replied:
ZS EV, XUV 400, Creta EV, Ioniq 5, EV6 and practically anything else coming from Europe. All of them come with NMC batteries.
These should be pretty much OK with only fast charging due to slightly more battery degradation than usual.
It is the LFP warriors of India and China that need slow charging to preserve their battery health and warranty.
But usually speaking, as per surveys, cars usually spend 90% of their life parked. If there is a fixed parking spot with a charger, that is the best way to charge, regardless of battery capacity or chemistry.
My parents’ place in Nashik is now a 20+ yr old building. They got PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana solar installed for 18/20 flats (with space remaining for the last 2). EVs will start pouring in now since everyone has over capacity compared to what they use. So it is not impossible.
Here’s what BHPian GoBabyGo replied:
Hi, don’t do regular fast charging. The solution can be:
- ZS EV can give real world city range of around 270km before the recharge (100% to 15%).
- Calculate your daily run and see how many times you need to charge your ZS EV in a week.
- If your running is such that you need to charge your ZS EV once a week then look for the day when you will have no problem in overnight charging (from 8pm to your office going time in the next morning). ZS EV takes a long time in 16Amp AC charging. Please ensure you give a minimum of 12 hrs. to 15 hrs. to charge your EV in AC charging.
- Find a local car service centre within walking distance from your apartment (or the nearest one), which has a secured parking space inside where you can charge your ZS EV overnight using a 16Amp charging socket. Talk to the owner and convince him to allow you to charge your ZS EV overnight once a week at a nominal charges (e.g. Rs. 10/- or Rs.12/- per unit, I don’t know the Bangalore electricity charges). You can even look for an OYO hotel with a parking facility near your apartment.
- Alternatively, talk to your society maintenance agency. They must have an office inside the apartment building where they can allow you to charge using a 16Amp AC charging socket. They can allot you one power point and an extension cord. While I think this is not possible as my society maintenance agency refused EV owner this in Noida Extension. Try your luck.
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