A Comparative Study on the Energy Flow of Electric Vehicle Batteries among Different Environmental Temperatures

In the present research, the energy flow of electric vehicle batteries under different environmental temperatures was experimentally examined in a climate chamber. The energy flow characteristics, energy loss conditions, and the critical components’ operating conditions and working efficiency under different environmental temperatures were comparatively analyzed. The test results show that the environmental temperature has a profound impact on an electric vehicle’s performance and the critical components’ working conditions. The driving mileage of the tested vehicle at −7 °C, 23 °C, and 35 °C was found to be 162.89 km, 256.09 km, and 198.69 km, respectively. The environmental temperature does not have much effect on the loss of the motor and motor control unit under driving conditions, and the proportion of those at different temperatures is in all cases about 18%. The battery-recycled energy at 23 °C under braking conditions is much higher than that at −7 °C and 35 °C, leading to a longer driving range. The power battery pack thermal transfer loss at −7 °C is much greater than that at 23 °C and 35 °C due to the low charging and discharging efficiency and the high energy consumption required to warm up the battery at a low environmental temperature. The compressor energy consumption accounts for a large proportion in both braking and driving conditions at 35 °C, and the proportions are 15.25% and 12.41%, respectively. The battery state-of-charge drops the fastest at −7 °C, followed by 35 °C, due to the differences in the power demands of air conditioning, warm air positive temperature coefficient (PTC), and battery PTC in high- and low-temperature environments. The working condition of the front motor under driving conditions at 35 °C is the most severe and leads to the lowest working efficiency.