The Influence Of The Battery Use Environment

Lithium batteries are the most used batteries in the world today. As the world leans more towards technological advancement, the market for batteries has expanded greatly with the emergence of electric vehicles, devices, and equipment. They provide all the necessary power required to operate the devices and machines, making them extremely important.

However, many people don’t understand that how they use batteries affects their performance and general safety. Thus, accidents have been reported, and most of these users are forced to buy new batteries after damaging the ones they have.

One of the biggest threats to batteries is temperature. It is extremely crucial for every user to understand how ambient temperature can affect their batteries.

Use environment can have a direct impact on the battery, potentially affecting the battery’s safety and performance. You can only avoid that if you know the specific effects. And that is what we are sharing in this guide. We will show you how temperature impacts lithium-ion batteries and how to keep them safe.

Keep reading.

How Does a Li-ion Battery Operate?

It’s hard to understand how temperature will affect your battery without knowing its operation principle.   The temperature comes in when the internal battery chemistry is affected by unstable conditions.

Li-ion batteries operate via the movement of ions from the positive to the negative electrode and vice versa. When the battery is connected to a load during discharge, the ions move from the negative electrode to the positive. The opposite happens when the battery is charging.

This complex process depends on different factors for safety and efficiency. The biggest threats to cell stability are the ambient temperature during storage and how the battery is handled during charge/discharge.

Both low and high temperatures affect the battery negatively. While some batteries react to these conditions better than others, it’s always good to keep things under the safest conditions.

We will discuss more deeply what roles these factors play. If you were wondering why your battery drains too fast when the room is hot, you would understand the reasons today.

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Low Temperature Effect

Battery cells are extremely sensitive to environmental conditions. This is why manufacturers always try to test them before supplying them to see if they can handle a wide range of temperatures.

When the temperature drops beyond the recommended state, it can damage your battery. Many batteries die when they are subjected to freezing conditions.

So, why does a battery die in cold temperatures? It is mainly because the battery’s chemical reaction, required to generate energy, is slowed down, making it inefficient. This condition puts too much stress on the battery, causing degradation in capacity and discharge rate.

Cold temperatures also cause the battery to become less mechanically stable, making it easier for the battery to be damaged.   Battery protection, therefore, demands that you consider carefully the temperature under which your battery is charging or operating.

Another serious condition where low temperature can be lethal for your battery is during charging. When a battery is charged in cold weather, there can be a compromise to the chemical reactions even further. Cells in batteries operate on the principle of reversible reduction reactions. So, when the temperature falls significantly, it causes the decomposition of the lithium-ion on the anode without intercalating into carbon sites, a process called plating. When this happens, the separation inside the cell is punctured to cause a short that will kill your battery.

In short, cold temperature is not good for your battery. Storing batteries under these conditions can help reduce the reaction and self-discharge. But you should warm the battery to room temperature before charging.

High Temperature Effect

Just like low temperatures, extreme heat also has a big impact on battery performance and operation. High temperatures can increase the chemical reaction, leading to adverse effects on the battery in the long run.

One of the major impacts of high temperatures on batteries is the thermal runaway. This effect occurs when generated heat inside the battery cell rises above the dissipation capacity. Thermal runaway is popular with high temperatures as heat triggers exothermic reactions within the battery.

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Batteries produce heat during any chemical reaction. When the temperature rises too high, the reactions create more heat, which increases the battery’s internal temperature. This can cause destruction to the battery, potentially causing workplace fires and explosions too.

So, if you are working with lithium-ion battery storage facilities, you need to know how to set the best storage conditions. You can reduce the temperature risks by creating an ideal atmosphere.

First, understand that li-ion batteries come with the manufacturer’s specifications and must be handled so. Pay close attention to all instructions on safety limits to ensure maximum current load, charging, and end-point voltages efficiencies. You also need to check the thermal load.

Whether you are storing, charging, or discharging the battery, always ensure optimum operating temperatures first. Since batteries are quite expensive, the last thing you want is to buy another one when you can still use the one you have.

Strong Vibration or Shock

Aside from the temperature, specific user conditions can also affect the battery’s performance. You can never expect your battery to last for the maximum lifespan if you keep shaking or throwing it down.

Vibrations and shock are considered some of the biggest threats to battery durability. If you fail to put your battery in the best operating conditions, the chances of it failing are extremely high. Recent studies have shown that vibration leads to faster degradation of the battery. It also causes cell materials and the general battery pack structure fatigue. Among the reports of these studies is that degradation due to vibration decreases battery longevity.

Every time your phone vibrates, it drains part of the battery. So, putting your phone on vibration wastes power that could have been used on something else. Experts recommend turning on the sound or general mode as this could increase battery life.

The physical handling of the battery affects its longevity. Unless you keep your battery safe, you are bound to face issues of degradation and loss of capacity. We hope this guide has opened your eyes to different ways to make your battery stronger.