Lithium-Ion Battery Performance in Cold Weather - Methods and Effect

Temperature is one of the biggest threats to the performance of your battery. Most people only know about batteries exploding in extremely high temperatures, but very little where cold temperatures are involved.

In this guide, we shall be looking at how freezing temperatures affect lithium-ion batteries and perhaps what you should do. Keep reading. 

 lithium-ion battery Cold Damage

Lithium cells are considered the best batteries both in performance and durability. And that is why they have become very popular today. However, like any other batteries, they do not enjoy cold temperatures very much.

A lot can happen if you expose your device to freezing conditions. This is one of the reasons why you are always advised to operate any device under optimal temperature.

Before we look at how cold will affect the battery, we need to start by laying a proper foundation. This is a subject that is quite wide, and a lot of people get the wrong information easily.

Temperature Range for Li-Ion Batteries

What does it mean when we say cold temperatures? We can explain this by looking at how batteries work and their temperature ranges.

All lithium batteries depend on chemical reactions for proper operation. Cold can slow down or sometimes even stop these reactions. Even though lithium batteries have better handling for such situations compared to other batteries, they are still at the risk of losing their performance.

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Cold temperatures drain your batteries faster than normal. That means you will need to charge more often than normal. Charging at a low temperature is not advisable as it further damages your batteries.

Sometimes people store batteries inside a refrigerator. That is a great idea for reducing the chemical reaction. But it will be a huge mistake to start charging the battery immediately without first restoring it to room temperature.

The ions that provide the charge do not work properly in cold temperatures. Hence, forcing them to charge will be like mixing positively and negatively charged ions. It will kill the cells, and there is nothing you can do to restore it.

The best range of charging li-ion batteries is from 15 to 45 degrees Celsius. You can even fast charge the battery at this temperature without damaging it. If the battery is 0 Degrees or below, you must restore it to optimal temperature and reduce the charging speed.

Li-Ion Batteries and Cold Temperature

As stated above, low temperatures increase the battery's internal resistance while lowering its capacity at the same temperatures. You can still use li-ion batteries at around -20 degrees Celcius, but they will not have enough capacity as you would expect from such cells. Also, the batteries will suffer permanent damage.

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Using the batteries for extended periods under cold conditions causes permanent damage to the battery. It will also reduce the available capacity in a very significant manner.

 Closed battery packs, including li-ion, have an allowance temperature range from -10 degrees to 60- degrees Celsius. The functionality of these batteries is guaranteed in these conditions. Note, however, that it depends on the specific battery. For instance, Panasonic offers the most superior quality in their batteries, which makes them perform better in extreme conditions.

Samsung is another company that has a reputation for making good batteries. Recent studies have found special batteries that can operate even at -40 degrees Celsius but under low discharging current. 

 What Happens to Capacity in Cold Conditions?

Something called capacity drop happens to lithium batteries under extreme colds. It's not very easy to determine how much capacity is lost because of the difference in the discharging current among batteries. However, you can be sure that your battery will never remain the same if left exposed or used in this condition.

We can use specific examples. Recent research shows that a Panasonic NCR18650A battery has a discharging current of 4A at 0 degrees C. The battery has a measured capacity of 3080mAh, which translates to 92.6% of capacity under 25 degrees C.

If the same battery is exposed to -10 degrees, it has a capacity of 2950mAh, which is 88% capacity at 25 degrees C. At -20 degrees C, the battery will have a capacity of 1400mAh, which is 40% capacity.

As you can see, using batteries under low temperatures affects their capacity in a way that cannot be reversed. It's best to keep it under clean conditions.

Damaged Cells Below Freezing Point

The answer is yes if you are wondering whether battery cells get damaged below freezing temperatures. A battery faces permanent damage when exposed to temperatures below 0 degrees C. 

When the discharging current is very low, the damage will be low. But if the discharging current is high, then expect your batteries to experience an even bigger effect.

Does Temperature Affect lithium-ion batteries?

Yes, the temperature is one of the biggest enemies to battery performance. Have you ever noticed that you cannot travel with spare lithium-ion batteries on a plane unless they are well-packed? Well, this is because high temperature may increase the chemical reaction inside the battery, which may lead to an explosion.

Low temperatures, on the other hand, increase internal resistance. That means the charged and discharged ions will not move as effectively as they are supposed to. This leads to the battery's capacity loss and potentially permanent damage if the battery is used or charged in such conditions. 

Can a lithium battery Get Too Cold?

Yes. Even though lithium-ion batteries are far superior to other battery chemistry, they are still threatened by low temperatures. They can handle these issues much better, but forcing them to do so only leads to permanent damage.

You can protect your cells by always using them in optimum conditions. You can keep your batteries inside the jacket if you are working under these extremes. But if you cannot do that, it's better to save yourself than the battery.

Smart devices will indicate when the battery temperature is too low and even switch off automatically. Take such warning very seriously and warm your battery before attempting to recharge it.