Study: Tesla DC vs AC charging range degradation

A recent study performed by Recurrent aims to identify exactly how much frequent fast charging degrades range over multiple charge cycles. Recurrent produces battery health reports for used electric vehicles, and launched this study of over 12.5 thousand used Tesla’s in the US. Recurrent has created two groups, a group of Tesla’s that utilized fast charging approximately 90% of the time (the test group) and a group of Tesla’s that utilized fast charging approximately 10% or less overall charge cycles (the control group). Recurrent analysts stated there is “no statistically significant difference in range degradation” between the two test groups. Recurrent is performing similar studies on non-Tesla EVs.

Recurrent makes note of battery conditions in relation to charging and overall battery health. Preconditioning features should be used when necessary, in either excessive heat or cold ambient temperature conditions. Preconditioning allows the battery cells to optimize temperature before charging, which greatly increases the lifespan and reduces range degradation. Additionally, Fast Chargers should be avoided when the battery is very low or very high, in terms of charge percentage. Under both circumstances (low battery or near-full) the battery resistance is increased, leading to higher chance of damage under DC charging conditions.

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