Understanding your electric vehicle battery

When you drive an EV, your battery does more than just power the miles you travel, it also keeps various car functions running smoothly.

For instance, on a sweltering day, the air conditioning works extra hard to keep you cool, while in freezing weather, the heaters are cranked up to keep you warm.

After powering your car’s movement, the climate control system is the biggest drain on your battery. Of course, other features like touchscreens, audio systems, and headlights also draw power from the battery but in reality, these are minimal.

The infographic below shows how many miles per hour these features consume.

your EV is a bit different from filling up a petrol tank because some energy is always lost during the process. This phenomenon, known as transmission loss, is common in all electrical processes, where some energy is lost as heat during transfer.

It’s especially noticeable with AC chargers since your car needs to convert AC to DC power. Longer charging cables can also reduce efficiency, leading to about 10-15% energy loss.

Even while charging, your car uses some battery power, similar to using your phone while it’s plugged in. You can help improve efficiency by preconditioning your battery before charging to get it to the ideal temperature. At GRIDSERVE, we minimise energy loss with thick, liquid-cooled cables designed for High Power charging.

No matter which charger you use, you only ever pay for the energy supplied to your EV. However, because of the charging efficiency mentioned above, you may find that around 10-15% less energy is added to your battery than what’s shown on your receipt.

If you are ever at all concerned that the percentage is outside this expected range, please contact customer service.

The infographic below explains how charger efficiency works in a little more detail.