Efficient electric mobility in winter: Proper battery conditioning
Electromobility has made significant progress and established itself in recent years. However, electric car owners face challenges in winter: the reduced charging power at low temperatures, as batteries charge more slowly in the cold.
Fortunately, there are ways to counteract this problem. One of the most effective methods is battery preconditioning. Some manufacturers offer solutions to bring a battery up to temperature and save valuable time. For this purpose, the cooling circuit of the battery system is heated, bringing the battery to an optimal temperature. Most manufacturers have implemented technology for this in the vehicle.
NIO offers a simple user interface for battery conditioning with information about the battery status. In the following, we will take a closer look at this!
Renick Büttner
Senior Software Engineer & Certified IT-Expert · Working in IT since 2014.
How does preconditioning work in NIO?
In winter, the charging times of electric cars can be significantly extended due to colder temperatures. This is because the battery chemistries are less reactive at low temperatures.
Preconditioning ensures that the battery is brought to the optimal operating temperature. This can be done either by using the vehicle's heater or heating elements within the battery itself. Some vehicle manufacturers, such as Tesla and Porsche, offer automated preconditioning that is specifically tailored to the navigation destination of a particular charging station. However, this does not allow for manual intervention by the user.
NIO presents a perfect solution for me in this context. Users receive an icon in the vehicle status bar that indicates the current state of the battery. A special icon is displayed at colder temperatures. When tapped, a dialog window opens. There, details about the current maximum charging power and the remaining time until the battery reaches the required temperature are provided. This includes control over whether the preconditioning should be started or stopped. It couldn't be simpler or more transparent.
Here are a few tips to optimize the charging of your NIO in winter:
🔋 Plan longer trips and preheat the vehicle in advance.
🕒 Use the preconditioning scheduler, for example, via the app.
🌡️ Check the current maximum charging power conveniently through the dialog.
With all functions (dialog in the vehicle and app), NIO not only provides the hardware in the vehicle but also innovative software around it. The implementation is incredibly simple, straightforward, but more comprehensive than what other manufacturers offer.
