Phone, car, vape, electric bike… How the cold affects your batteries and how to preserve them ?

Par basses températures, les batteries peuvent connaître des baisses de tension et de performance. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – Vanessa MEYER

At low temperatures, batteries may experience drops in voltage and performance.

Since the start of the week, France has been facing a cold spell with very low temperatures and widespread frosts almost everywhere in France. And with winter, it's not just temperatures that drop, but also… the performance of lithium batteries, which power our smartphones, bicycles, electronic cigarettes and even our… nbsp;cars. 

The colder it is, the less operational the batteries are

Indeed, as recalled France Bleu Paris, the colder it is, the higher the capacity battery power is reduced. This phenomenon can be explained according to François Charon, general director of SIA (Society of Automotive Engineers), due to the fact that the electrolyte , liquid element which makes up the battery with the electrodes, densifies at low temperatures, thus making the passage of electrons more difficult. < /p>

“Therefore, the battery will be less powerful, less responsive and have less charging capacity compared to mild temperatures. Batteries are like the human body: they appreciate average temperatures, around 20°. The more they are used during extreme temperatures, such as when it is between 0 and 10°, the more they are numb, the less operational they are. specifies François Charon.

How to optimize your batteries ?

While there is no miracle solution for batteries functioning equally well in hot and cold weather, there are some tips for adapting and preserving your batteries by low temperatures.

Thus, you should not hesitate to adapt your driving, to park your vehicle (car, bicycle or electric scooter) as far as possible, sheltered from the cold and store your phone or electronic cigarette in an inside pocket.

Patrice Simon, professor at the Paul Sabatier University of Toulouse, also advises against recharging your phone or laptop in very cold rooms, for the risk of producing accelerated aging of battery. "It is therefore necessary to protect the device as much as possible and heat the battery a little during charging. It's the same for electric cars, it's better to charge them in a garage."

If despite everything your devices are less efficient, don't panic: it's only temporary.