Mar 18, 2022 Pageview:978
Smart cars are considered to be quite reliable. Their Reliability Rating is found to be 4 out of 5, thus ranking 10th among 32 for all major car brands. The rating is based upon an average taken across 345 models.
They do require powerful batteries to ensure smooth functioning. Batteries are similar to a wild animal. It is domesticated by artificial intelligence. The battery is illusive while not exhibiting any visible changes. When empty, or fully charged, old or new and if require replacement, they do appear the same. However, three concerns may summarize their shortcomings.
1.Charger is to be customized to each battery chemistry and size.
2.Host uncertain if battery has the capacity to satisfy demand for power.
3.User not aware of the amount of runtime left in the pack.
The solutions are quite complex while ‘smart’ batteries assure to reduce such deficiencies.
How long do smart car batteries last?
You may perhaps want to know how well your smart car battery would last! The smart car battery is not similar to that of the conventional regular, rectangular sized car battery that is found next to the combustion engine. In theory, the smart vehicle’s motor is designed to have a long life. But the lifespan elated issue mainly concerns the lithium-ion battery.
There are available different types of smart car batteries in the market. Most smart cars, these day are powered by ‘lithium-ion’ batteries. They are quite similar to the ones used to power smartphones and laptops, however, possess greater capacity.
When concerning how long it will last, it is essential to understand the battery’s intrinsic features and high standards of the manufacturer. This is to achieve optimal automotive usage. As the ‘automotive’ life of the lithium-ion smart car battery coming to an end, does not necessarily mean its range completely drops. Rather, the battery’s capacity experiences a gradual decline since it racks up draining/charging cycles.
According to the industry experts, the batteries lifespan for automotive use, is specified to be approximately 10 years. However, this does not state that the battery has reached its end of life. Rather, there is still plenty of energy left in it to ensure ‘second life’, thus powering for probably another ten long years! It can be beneficial for short-circuit distribution of green energy, vehicle electrification, storage system for stationary energy battery, etc.
There are some factors that affect its lifespan:
Charging frequency: Frequent charging and trickle charging is a couple of factors to be taken into consideration. Short charges to top up the battery charge are likely to cause detrimental effect. Generating excess heat will only result in the battery getting deteriorated.
Extended period parking: If battery is being used, battery wear des occur. Hence, leaving the smart car parked in high temperatures for prolonged periods and a fully charged battery is likely to have negative impact upon its duration.
Climate: Lithium-ion batteries are significantly affected by temperature. It will be vital to difference between short term (charging time) and long term (its lifespan) battery wear performance. Heat over the long term might cause negative effect upon the battery’s lifespan, thus not affecting performance. However, low temperatures may impact its short term performance, but not on its duration.
How much does it cost to replace a smart car battery?
Many reputed manufacturers assure that the batteries designed them can offer minimum 70% capacity after completing the first 8 years of usage. It is necessary to understand that the battery is not likely to be termed ‘dead’ once it completes that 8 year mark. Rather, it’s offered driving range gets considerably reduced and not fully dead. A small battery pack is likely to experience more loss.
For example, let’s take a smart car with a real-world range of 120 km and 8 year warranty period. However, on completion of this 8 year period, its mileage may drop to 84 km, thus not qualifying for warranty replacement. However, modern smart batteries are designed with much improved thermal management systems and battery chemistry. Hence, they do not decline in their capacity quickly.
During the initial days of introduction of smart cars, battery replacements cost about $30,000. If it declined faster within the warranty period of 8 years, then they were replaced for free. With modern technology being used for battery construction, 24kWh battery replacement cost has reduced to approximately $10,000. Moreover, failed battery packs that were factory returned were found to have several faulty cells and nothing major. Presently, aftermarket replacements are offered of battery packs including upgradations!
Battery prices, in 2010 cost approximately US$1100 per kWh. However, recently, it has fallen to about US$137/kWh. Industry experts predict that ICE and BEV price parity by 2024 is likely to be around US$100/kWh.
What kind of battery does a smart car use?
These days, manufacturers have been focusing on developing smart car batteries to reduce maintenance and operational costs involved in EV vehicles. Hence with time, the smart battery has been evolving to allow smart car owners to not worry about battery replacement for a long time. The battery traditionally is considered to be a simple unit to store energy. It has gone onto become a critical component when power management subsystem is concerned.
On the other hand, the smart battery can be termed to be a standard battery designed with embedded microcontroller to monitor major sensor inputs. It also processes as well as stored derived information while reporting results n the shared data bus. The smart battery rather serves as a status-reporting load-leveling component in the overall subsystem. Its use is found to have a direct bearing upon the vehicle’s readiness. It also enables better control and organization of energy and power resources, including system-wide planning.
What battery is used to power smart cars? For instance, the 2015 Smart Fortwo requires the following type of batteries for efficient functioning. H5-AGM and 47H5 for L3/1.0L with cold cranking amps being 680 and 650 respectively!
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