Charging your electric car is almost as simple as charging your smartphone, as long as you know what you’re doing. How often should you charge your car? Is it a good idea to charge it every day? Read on for our advice on looking after your vehicle’s battery.
Summary:
A question of use and range
4 tips for optimal charging
A question of use and range
You don’t necessarily need to charge your electric car every day. It all depends on your lifestyle and your vehicle. The ideal timing will vary, depending on how often and how far you drive it and the battery’s range. For everyday use in urban areas involving short journeys of about 30 kilometers per day, daily charging isn’t necessary. In fact, you shouldn’t charge your car too often.
The most important thing is to ensure optimal charge: between 20% and 80% for the lithium-ion batteries that are found in most electric cars. To conserve your battery, it’s best to avoid extremes: try to keep your battery’s charge above 20% and below 80%. This should determine how often and for how long you charge your electric car.
However, a full charge will ensure that you can go the distance on a long journey. We recommend charging your car up to 100% with a normal or accelerated charge (3-phase charging at 22 kW) to limit the use of fast charging stations. These stations should only be used when absolutely necessary because they gradually and prematurely damage the battery’s cells. We also recommend that you unplug your vehicle when it is fully charged. Otherwise, your battery will heat up unnecessarily.
4 tips for optimal charging
- If you install an electric charging point at home, you can charge your car during off-peak hours. With a 7.4 kW (32 A) charging point, charging is up to three times faster than with a wall outlet (8 A). You can charge your car while limiting your energy consumption, all at a reduced cost! In France, you can even install a charging point in the car park of your apartment building, thanks to a new law on the right to a charging point.
- Opt for energy-efficient driving to increase your range. Drive at a moderate speed: 110 km/h on motorways and 100 km/h on major roads.
- Your vehicle’s weight has an impact on its range. We recommend limiting your car’s load as much as possible; if you can travel without a roof box, your charge will last longer.
- In summer, we recommend letting your battery cool down before charging it. In hot weather and during heatwaves, it may overheat and lose charge more quickly. This preventive cooling helps preserve its capacity and range.
Q&A
You don’t need to for short everyday journeys: it’s better to charge it to 80%. Before a long journey, charging to 100% ensures maximum range.
You don’t need to. In cold weather, simply plug the car in before turning on the engine and immediately turn on the heating to conserve battery life.
Yes, the battery loses energy. It also uses energy to maintain a certain temperature. As such, it should be charged from time to time, even in winter.
By driving in an energy-efficient way, you can improve your electric car’s energy consumption by 20% to 40% – meaning that you can travel 20% to 40% further!
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