According to some dealers, many consumers bring in perfectly good batteries for after-sales replacement. The battery is clearly fully charged, yet its power is exhausted after only a short ride. What causes this? Read on!

1. Battery

The battery is the energy source of an electric vehicle, and every electrical part of the vehicle runs on it. The amount of power directly affects the running time and therefore the range. Increasing battery capacity is an effective way to make the vehicle run farther. Larger capacity also reduces charging frequency, slows battery aging and extends battery life.

At present, batteries on the market come in standard sizes. To get enough capacity one has to add more cells, which makes the vehicle bulky and heavy. So the solution to insufficient capacity is to increase the energy stored in batteries of the same size.

2. Motor

The motor is the biggest power consumer of an electric vehicle, using most of the electricity. The battery feeds power to the motor, and the motor converts it into mechanical energy. Higher conversion efficiency means fuller use of the power, so the vehicle runs farther on the same charge, while low efficiency wastes power in useless work. The conversion rate mentioned here is the motor efficiency, greatly influenced by the structural design and coil winding technology of the motor. To make the vehicle run farther and save power, a high-efficiency motor is essential.

3. Controller

The motor and the battery are important, but their coordinated operation is directed by the controller. By intelligently judging the motor status, the controller adjusts the current output to match the power demand of the motor with the current supply of the battery. When the motor and battery work in harmony, power use is efficient, performance is better and the vehicle runs farther. Just as a CPU is to a computer, a good controller is vital to an electric vehicle.

4. Charger

Battery capacity is the main factor deciding the range, but the quality of the charger directly affects how well the battery performs. The charger control of current, voltage and time during charging determines the charge saturation and the aging speed of the battery.

5. Riding habits

The performance of an electric vehicle is greatly influenced by the user habits. Almost all mechanical and electrical devices consume huge energy when starting, and electric vehicles are no exception, while frequent braking during riding consumes a lot of power. In addition, when climbing, carrying heavy loads or running at high speed, the vehicle draws large current with high consumption and relatively low efficiency, and frequent high-current output also damages the battery and accelerates aging. Moreover, the charge-discharge cycles of a battery are limited, so the timing and frequency of charging also affect its life. Behaviors such as only charging after the power runs out, leaving the charger plugged in after full charge and charging too often are all not recommended.

Therefore, to make the vehicle run farther and the battery last longer, start from the four major electrical parts, the motor, battery, charger and controller, optimize the design, improve operating efficiency and develop good riding habits.