Just realized I was charging my EV wrong for 18 months

I used to just plug my car in whenever I got home, no matter what the battery level was. Then a coworker told me that constantly topping off from 80% to 100% can actually wear the battery down faster over time. He showed me a chart from his own battery monitoring app where his car lost way less range after a year of keeping it between 20% and 80%. So now I only charge up to 80% for daily driving, and I only go to 100% if I know I've got a road trip the next day. It's a small change but it makes sense if you think about it like not overfilling a gas tank. Has anyone else had better battery health after switching to this method?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_martin161mo ago

Have you noticed a difference in your range since you started doing the 80% thing? I started doing the same about six months ago after reading some battery science stuff online. My buddy ignored the advice and his battery degradation is already showing up on his car's diagnostic screen, like 3% more loss than mine. I also try not to let it drop below 20% if I can help it, seems like the battery stays more consistent that way.

henderson.kim1mo ago

My buddy's Tesla showed 5% more degradation after two years of constantly charging to 100%. I switched to 80% around the same time and my battery health is still sitting at 94%. That little change is worth the hassle for me.