Its Cold Outside Even for Your Lithium Battery
When everyone is hunkering down and trying to stay warm its time to think about your lithium batteries.
The good news is that you can discharge or use your battery no matter how cold it gets, without worrying about damage. You will notice that your lithium battery is dying much quicker than it had in warmer months. When temperatures reach this low, below freezing, it temporarily reduces the capacity.
Coming in from the cold your hands can hurt while they warm up. The same thing goes for lithium batteries. When your batteries internal temperature drops below 32 degrees, the lithium cells are unable to accept the same amount of charging current (warmth) as they did when the temperature was warm. Don’t charge your lithium batteries when the battery temperature is below freezing.
The sun helps too. Are you hooked up to solar power? The good news is even when stored in an unheated location the solar panels will keep your battery active to the point where the internal battery temperature will not drop below freezing.
