How Does an EV Keep Its Battery Cool?
An electric vehicle’s battery is its most important component. Lithium-ion batteries are sensitive to extreme temperatures and must be kept from overheating at all costs. If your EV’s battery goes bad, you’re basically left with a useless shell.
This is why EV manufacturers have developed systems to help monitor the battery and keep it running properly, including properly cooling the battery. But how do EV battery cooling systems work, and how do they keep your EV’s battery safe?
Why Is Regulating the Battery Temperature Important in an EV?
Lithium-ion batteries, the type of batteries found in most EVs, are not fond of high temperatures. Keeping your electric vehicle’s battery away from extreme heat is one of thebest ways to take care of your EV’s battery. These batteries operate best at temperatures that aren’t on the extreme ends of the scale.
This means that the batteries must be kept from plummeting to below-freezing temperatures, and care should also be taken so that they don’t overheat.Charging a battery at freezing temperatureis not recommended; that is why some manufacturers offer options to prepare the battery prior to charging in freezing scenarios.
Icy conditions can damage your EV’s battery, but extreme heat can do the same or worse. If your EV’s battery gets too hot and it’s not being cooled at an adequate rate, especially during charging, the battery can experience a thermal event. If the heat gets too out of hand,a fire could eventually occur.
Clearly, EV automakers need to prioritize proper battery cooling, and they most definitely have done just that. Modern EVs are equipped with advanced thermal monitoring and regulation systems, which monitor the battery’s temperature and ensure that the battery isn’t too hot.
If the battery becomes too hot while charging, these systems can actually fine-tune the charging rate. By doing this, battery overheating can be avoided.
Some EVs Use Liquid Cooling to Regulate Battery Temperature
There are different ways to keep an EV battery cool, and much like internal combustion vehicles, one of these methods is using a liquid coolant. This method is an alternative to simply cooling the battery using air. Air cooling has been around forever and has been made famous in vehicles like the Porsche 911, which employed air cooling before the newer generations switched to liquid cooling. Air cooling is a simple system that eliminates leaks, which liquid cooling systems have a definite propensity for.
But ultimately, liquid cooling systems are better at cooling than air because liquids have a vastly superior ability to transfer heat. That’s not to say air cooling is horrible, and some popular EVs, like the Nissan Leaf, actually employ this method successfully. Although, it must be said that it’s still preferable to have liquid cooling systems in very hot climates.
EVs that use liquid coolant to cool their batteries feature a system similar to what is found in a traditional ICE car. In an ICE vehicle, the coolant is circulated through the engine via channels specifically made for the coolant. The coolant absorbs the engine’s heat and is then transferred to the radiator, where a fan blows air on it and cools it. This method of cooling vehicles is quite effective, and ICE vehicles can use the heat from the engine to provide heating for the cabin.
In the case of liquid-cooled EVs, the battery is the component that needs constant cooling. The cooling system passes coolant around the battery, absorbing heat in the process, and then sends it to a radiator. Once the hot coolant reaches the radiator, a fan may help lower the temperature of the coolant by blowing on the radiator.
These systems obviously vary somewhat from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the cooling passages around the battery may differ between automakers. It’s important to note that EVs have fewer maintenance requirements than ICE vehicles, which is one of theadvantages of owning an EV, coolant must eventually be serviced.
The coolant prevents corrosion, apart from transferring heat, so it’s important to keep the coolant fresh to protect the cooling system passages. Unfortunately, servicing an electric car is still kind of a taboo subject. Many think these vehicles are black boxes that shouldn’t be touched unless you’re a certified tech from the manufacturer. The truth is many of the components of an EV are very similar to conventional cars, and servicing them shouldn’t seem like a mythical endeavor.
Some EVs Use Air Cooling For The Battery
Liquid cooling for EV batteries is definitely the more advanced alternative and seemingly the more efficient one as well. Liquid coolants will always trump air when transferring heat away from the battery. Simply blowing air over a battery will help somewhat with heating issues, but liquid coolants can transfer much more heat away from the battery.
Regardless of the physics side of things, some EVs, like the Nissan Leaf, have decided to embrace air cooling. Air cooling isn’t something you’re likely to see applied inhigh-performance EVs, especially big vehicles with over 800 horsepower. But this technology gets the job done in less demanding applications. For example, Nissan has kept the Leaf devoid of liquid cooling for many years. Actually, even after its redesign, the Leaf is still a proud air-cooled EV.
Many owners have been complaining about the fact that the Leaf is air-cooled, and it is possible that the lack of water cooling could lead to premature battery wear. Regardless, Nissan is sticking to their guns on this one.
Liquid Cooling Is the Future for EV Batteries
EV batteries have very strict thermal requirements and must be kept in a specific temperature range for optimal functionality. Liquid cooling seems to be the more promising technology for keeping an EV’s temperature at bay.
Whether you own a Tesla, Hyundai, Nissan, or otherwise, you’ll want to keep one eye on your EV battery health.
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