Study finds that using Superchargers frequently doesn't cause a significant difference on battery life
Recurrent
It has long been believed in the industry that frequent DC fast charging for your Tesla or any EV is terrible for battery longevity. However, a new report from Recurrent, which analyzed data from over 12,500 Tesla vehicles in the US, clearly shows little to no difference in battery degradation between frequent and rare fast charging.
Recurrent studied fast charging on thousands of Tesla vehicles in the US to learn if the software and safety mechanisms in the battery management system (BMS) prevent damage to the battery. With Labor Day travel coming up, this is the perfect time to share what is fact and fiction when it comes to fast charging.
The Recurrent Study: A Comprehensive Analysis
Your electric vehicle battery uses direct current (DC) power. However, the electricity from the grid (or from an outlet) is alternating current (AC). In-home charging, which is AC charging, the car’s onboard charger converts the AC electricity to DC and then sends it to the battery. The onboard charger has a built-in limit on how quickly it can do this. The maximum speed is usually around 11 kW, so AC charging can generally add 20-40 miles per hour, depending on the vehicle.
On the other hand, DC charging happens when the conversion to DC energy happens outside of the car. This is almost exclusively reserved for public charging stations and Tesla Superchargers. Since the electricity going into the car bypasses the onboard converter, it can refill the battery much faster. One of the biggest concerns with fast charging is that it can, theoretically, damage the battery by pushing too much energy into the battery too quickly. This would lead to irreparable, long-term range loss.
Key Findings: No Significant Impact on Battery Degradation
Will fast charging hurt my EV battery? The short answer is that occasional fast charging is fine. The study compared cars that fast charge at least 90% of the time to cars that fast charge less than 10% of the time. In other words, people who almost exclusively fast charge their car and people who rarely fast charge.
The results show no statistically significant difference in range degradation between Teslas that fast charge more than 90% of the time and those that fast charge less than 10% of the time.
Initial analysis by the team at Recurrent suggests that the study findings can be applied across Tesla models and other EV manufacturers. However, detailed research is being conducted on other popular vehicles Recurrent supports. In short, the robust thermal, voltage, and battery management systems that EV makers have invested in protect their batteries from damage with routine fast charger use.
Tesla specifically does an excellent job regulating power to and from the battery based on the temperature of the battery pack, its state of charge (charge percentage), and other environmental factors such as external temperature.
When Fast Charging Can Cause Damage
When is fast charging more likely to cause damage? There are several times when fast charging may impact your EV battery more. Avoid fast charging in extreme heat without preconditioning your battery. Preconditioning is when the car’s thermal management system pre-cools or heats the battery to accept a higher charge rate.
Typically, the battery will be preconditioned if you set your car’s navigation to a fast charge station. Similarly, precondition the battery before fast charging in extreme cold. Driving a bit before fast charging is often enough to warm up the battery or get to the fast charger using your car’s navigation. Avoid fast charging your EV at very low states or very high states of charge since battery resistance will be higher.
Overall, this study adds to the growing body of knowledge regarding EV battery longevity and charging practices. Nonetheless, being mindful of battery health during extreme temperatures is still encouraged.
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Tesla’s been on a roll with Supercharger improvements lately, from the 325kW charging update for the Cybertruck, to 500kW with V4 Superchargers coming next year. While those improvements have been limited to the Cybertruck, Tesla didn’t put all their focus on their new flagship vehicle, but looked at their more affordable vehicles as well.
LFP Battery Heating
Tesla’s Superchargers can now heat LFP Batteries - those that are in the Model 3 and Model Y Rear Wheel Drive variants. This applies to Long Range and Standard Range models, which saw a limited run. This is another update included as part of the 2024 Tesla Holiday Update - which really arrived with a lot of unannounced new features and capabilities.
The change is pretty interesting - Superchargers of the V3 and V4 variety can now pre-heat batteries for Model 3 and Model Y vehicles equipped with LFP battery packs. That means those vehicles are able to get back on the road faster when it's extremely cold. Of course, Tesla still advises you to precondition before you arrive, saving drivers time and money.
Max de Zegher, Tesla’s Director of Charging, also commented on the new feature. Essentially, Tesla is inducing an AC (alternating) ripple current through the battery to warm it up. Keep in mind that Superchargers are DC charging. That means it is possible to get a cold-soaked LFP vehicle on the road 4x faster than before, assuming that it didn’t precondition at all and that it is in the worst-case scenario (below 0ºF).
In essence, Tesla is using some engineering magic to turn the circuits inside the LFP battery into an electric heater - and powering that heater through the Supercharger. An AC ripple current is a small oscillation in the DC charging current that generates heat through electrical resistance, warming up the battery. Those ripples are a byproduct of converting AC to DC and back - so Tesla is using the onboard charger to induce those ripples to warm up the battery. Definitely an innovative technique that’s really only possible with the versatility of the NACS connector.
We’re hoping Tesla can implement this across their full lineup of vehicles, but we’ll have to wait and see how it is trialed across LFP vehicles first and if it is even possible on vehicles with 2170 or 4680 battery packs.
Tesla launched two FSD updates simultaneously on Saturday night, and what’s most interesting is that they arrived on the same software version. We’ll dig into that a little later, but for now, there’s good news for everyone. For Hardware 3 owners, FSD V12.6.1 is launching to all vehicles, including the Model 3 and Model Y. For AI4 owners, FSD V13.2.4 is launching, starting with the Cybertruck.
FSD V13.2.4
A new V13 build is now rolling out to the Cybertruck and is expected to arrive for the rest of the AI4 fleet soon. However, this build seems to be focused on bug fixes. There are no changes to the release notes for the Cybertruck with this release, and it’s unlikely to feature any changes when it arrives on other vehicles.
FSD V12.6.1 builds upon V12.6, which is the latest FSD version for HW3 vehicles. While FSD V12.6 was only released for the redesigned Model S and Model X with HW3, FSD V12.6.1 is adding support for the Model 3 and Model Y.
While this is only a bug-fix release for users coming from FSD V12.6, it includes massive improvements for anyone coming from an older FSD version. Two of the biggest changes are the new end-to-end highway stack that now utilizes FSD V12 for highway driving and a redesigned controller that allows FSD to drive “V13” smooth.
It also adds speed profiles, earlier lane changes, and more. You can read our in-depth look at all the changes in FSD V12.6.
Same Update, Multiple FSD Builds
What’s interesting about this software version is that it “includes" two FSD updates, V12.6.1 for HW3 and V13.2.4 for HW4 vehicles. While this is interesting, it’s less special when you understand what’s happening under the hood.
The vehicle’s firmware and Autopilot firmware are actually completely separate. While a vehicle downloading a firmware update may look like a singular process, it’s actually performing several functions during this period. First, it downloads the vehicle’s firmware. Upon unpacking the update, it’s instructed which Autopilot/FSD firmware should be downloaded.
While the FSD firmware is separate, the vehicle can’t download any FSD update. The FSD version is hard-coded in the vehicle’s firmware that was just downloaded. This helps Tesla keep the infotainment and Autopilot firmware tightly coupled, leading to fewer issues.
What we’re seeing here is that HW3 vehicles are being told to download one FSD version, while HW4 vehicles are being told to download a different version.
While this is the first time Tesla has had two FSD versions tied to the same vehicle software version, the process hasn’t actually changed, and what we’re seeing won’t lead to faster FSD updates or the ability to download FSD separately. What we’re seeing is the direct result of the divergence of HW3 and HW4.
While HW3/4 remained basically on the same FSD version until recently, it is now necessary to deploy different versions for the two platforms. We expect this to be the norm going forward, where HW3 will be on a much different version of FSD than HW4. While each update may not include two different FSD versions going forward, we may see it occasionally, depending on which features Autopilot is dependent on.
Thanks to Greentheonly for helping us understand what happened with this release and for the insight into Tesla’s processes.
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