If you live in a particularly cold place where it can go to freezing temperatures, you might have had your car battery die on you.
It’s not just for car batteries. Any battery exposed to cold weather can die as some of them are not suited to operate in extremely cold conditions. So, which battery should you go for when you’re expecting reliable performance?
The answer to your question can be found in lithium batteries. The construction of lithium batteries is done in such a way that makes them suitable for this. For today, we want to have a look at different lithium batteries fit for colder climates. Let’s start.
Why Go for Lithium Batteries in Cold Weather?
For those of you that don’t know, there are different uses for getting a lithium battery for cold weather. If you’re living off the grid in a camping van or RV, you want a reliable source that will carry you through the cold winter nights.
Something like a 12V lithium-ion battery can come in handy for those. You could choose a lead acid battery. But that will degrade much faster. For the best performance, you need to go with our lithium batteries from Thinpack.
Let’s see why these batteries are so good in cold weather.
How Do Lithium Batteries Perform in Cold Weather?
The way lithium batteries are constructed, they can work perfectly in cold weather. Why does this happen? When used, lithium batteries generate heat. This allows them to operate perfectly in cold weather without any major issues.
When you think about lithium battery alternatives, the battery that comes to mind is the lead acid battery. While you are free to use that battery, it’s not going to last too long.
If you draw power from the battery in extremely cold weather, it’s going to damage the battery. The more you use it, the more damage you’re going to do on the integrity of the battery.
As we mentioned before, when lithium batteries operate, they generate heat. This does two things at once. Firstly, the resistance against cold is improved. And lastly, the voltage of the battery increases as well.
Effect of Cold Weather on Lithium Batteries
As we’re recommending that you choose from the lithium batteries in our collection, does it mean that cold doesn’t affect these batteries? In fact, the cold does impact the batteries quite a lot.
At lower temperatures the batteries will take a hit in efficiency and only provide a reduced percentage of their rated capacities.
You can expect around 90-95% of the capacity when using a 12V lithium ion battery.
So, why and how is the capacity of a lithium battery reduced? When a lithium battery is used in extremely cold temperatures, a phenomenon takes place disrupting the flow of electricity. This is known as lithium plating.
It essentially means that the ions from the cathode are not captured by the anode properly. This causes a drop in the capacity due to the abrupt flow of electricity.
Low Temperature Lithium Battery for Cold Weather at Thinpack
There are different series of battery packs that are made specifically for cold weather at Thinpack. These can be used for different devices and use cases. The batteries are rated to perform at -20 and up to -50 degrees temperature.
Since Thinpack is a custom battery manufacturer, special care is taken to ensure that the batteries are able to perform at these temperatures.
Curious to know what kind of battery for cold weather you can get at Thinpack? Let’s see what we have in store for you.
Lithium Batteries for Cold Weather
At Thinpack we have two different series of batteries that can perform well in the cold weather. One is our Lifepo4 series of lithium iron phosphate batteries. The other one is the lithium titanate batteries.
LiFePO4 Batteries
The LFP batteries are available for different purposes. You can use them for different kinds of purposes. You can use it for cars, bikes, e-bikes, golf carts. There are even portable battery backs should you ever need emergency backup power in the cold.
These come in different voltages. You can find it in 12V, 24V, 36V, 48V, and 72V. And these batteries can work in -20 degrees Celsius and up to -30 degrees Celsius.
Lithium Titanate Batteries
Lithium Titanate batteries are lighter than lead-acid batteries. And they can operate under even colder temperatures. And even on the opposite end of the spectrum, the batteries can work up to 60 degrees Celsius.
The batteries can operate perfectly up to 20000 cycles. They also come with a shelf life of 25 years of shelf life. It doesn’t end there. The batteries come with ultra-fast charging with full charge up to 15 minutes.
Advantages of Thinpack Lithium Battery for Cold Weather
Let’s check out the different reasons why we’re recommending our Thinpack batteries for colder weathers.
Integrated Heating System
To combat the harshness of cold weathers, Thinpack lithium batteries come with an integrated heating system. To prevent the battery from getting damaged during cold weathers, the integrated heating system heats the battery up during charging/discharging.
Dual Thermal Controls
Aside from the integrated heating system, there’s a battery management system with thermal controls. This allows customers to monitor and adjust the temperature of the batteries.
Ease of Use
Thinpack battery pack has the easiest usage out there. All you need to do is plug the battery and you’re good to go. This applies when you want to charge the battery as well. Just hook it up to the charger and forget about it.
Temperature Tolerance
Even if you’re not using the dual thermal controls, the batteries are still rated to perform up to -50 degrees Celsius. If your battery is being used at this temperature, then you have nothing to worry about.
Although, just to be safe, you should use the internal heating system to avoid causing any damage to the battery.
Multiple Applications
The applications for cold weather batteries are not limited to one. Use it as the primary power source in your camping van, or as a backup power source for those chilly winter nights. Thinpack batteries can do it all.
Tips on Taking Care of Lithium Batteries in the Cold
In extremely cold weather, you need to learn to manage your lithium batteries. If you don’t follow the right steps, the lifespan of your battery will decrease for sure.
Here are some steps that you can follow.
Keeping the Battery Clean
During winter, it’s important to keep a lithium battery clean to ensure its long lifespan. If there is even a small buildup of ice on the batteries, you need to clean it immediately.
The situation is much worse when it comes to lead acid batteries. But even with lithium batteries, it never hurts to be careful.
Batteries Need to Be Warmed Up before Use
There are two ways to go about this. You can turn on your vehicle and let it warm up before you head out in the snow with it.
Since you’ll be using Thinpack lithium batteries for low temperature, there is another option. You can use the integrated heating system that comes with the battery. That way, you can head out immediately without needing the car or bike to warm up first.
Knowing the Ideal Temperature for Battery Storage
If you live in a particularly cold area, you should know about the perfect temperature to store your battery.
Lithium batteries will be affected the most when they’re just lying around in the cold. That’s why it’s imperative that you know the right temperature to store the batteries.
If you’re living in a cold place, the perfect temperature to store a battery would be 0 – 26 degrees Celsius. This will make sure there are no adverse effects on the battery like lithium plating.
Charging at the Right Temperature
The lithium batteries that you can find on Thinpack are rated to work in as low as -50 degrees. But if you want to be efficient in your battery usage, you need to charge it in warmer than -20 degrees.
When you charge the battery at this temperature, you preserve its capacity. When you charge below -20 degrees, you will be sacrificing some capacity of the battery if you charge it.
Final Thoughts
When you’re taking the decision to purchase a new battery for cold weather, always make sure to get a lithium battery.
We’ve already talked about how the lead acid batteries are no good for the colder weather. They are plagued with issues like corrosion, reduced battery capacity and increased charge time.
If you need help choosing lithium batteries, make sure to check out the low temperature batteries on the Thinpack website.
There are multiple options available, each of which is suited for a different purpose. Be sure to check them out if you’re ever in the need of a lithium battery for cold weather.