Did you know that all NIU scooters display a Battery Health Score? Let’s see in details what this score is about, and how to improve the battery health of your electric scooter.
What is a Battery Health Score?
The Battery Health Score is a number between 0 and 100 that indicates the state of wear of the battery. When you buy a new electric scooter, the state is at its maximum, close to 100. It cannot be at 100 because tests are run at the factory to check the battery is working well.
Therefore, the more the battery is used, discharged, and therefore charged, the more the score decreases.
However, the health score is not always computed with the same calculus. For example, it does not simply remove 0,1 each time you are fully charging your battery.
Several factors matter when computing the Score, such as the level of the battery when you are charging it,
Where can I find my Battery Health Score?
To find your electric scooter’s Battery Health Score, you just need to enter inside the NIU APP.
- Launch the NIU APP
- Go to “Vehicle”
- Click on the “Battery info” card
- Click on “Battery Score”
- Your “Battery Health” score is displayed
Factors affecting the Battery Health Score
What are the Battery Cycles?
The Battery Health Score is computed using Battery Cycles. A Battery Cycle involves discharging the battery and then charging it to full.
Every time a Battery Cycle is counted, the Health Score adjusts.
Each time the battery is completing a new cycle, the Score is reduced by 0,1. However, additional elements play a role such as the initial level of the battery before charging, the temperature of the room, and possible battery failures.
Good to know, good habits permit to increase your Battery Health Score!
Battery Health Score and Level of Battery
Battery level at 15% or more (+1)
Charging your battery when its level is higher than 15% is a good habit to adopt. You can even gain +1 at the Battery Health Score if you do it 10 times in a row.
Battery level at 40% or more (+1)
Charging your battery often is the best habit you should have! This is also the best way to improve your Battery Health Score. It will gain 1 point if you are recharging 5 times in a row, a battery with a level higher than 40%!
Example of good charging habits
If you have very good charging habits, your Health Score is impacted this way depending on charging sequences:
- 1 : -0.1
- 2 : -0.1
- 3 : -0.1
- 4 : -0.1
- 5 : -0.1 + 1 = +0.9
- 6: -0.1
- 7 : -0.1
- 8 : -0.1
- 9 : -0.1
- 10 : -0.1 + 1 = +0.9
Therefore, assuming your score was 99.8 when you bought your NIU electric scooter, after 10 Battery Cycles you did not lose any points and rather gain 1.8! Your Battery Health Score is now 100.
Charging an already charged battery (-0.1)
There is a false belief whereby letting a battery charging will not affect its state of wear. However, it does have a bad effect.
Fortunately, all NIU batteries are equipped with a Battery Management System (BMS) that permits to avoid this type of damage. The BMS will automatically stop the recharging process when the battery is full.
However, because letting a full battery in charge is a bad habit, it slightly affects the Battery Health Score. It reduces it by an additional 0,1 point.
Charging a drained battery (-0.1)
A battery is drained when you use it until it gets very low. In this case, the battery is drawing too much and the Battery Health Score is reduced by an additional 0,1 point.
Extended period without charging (-10)
As we explained in this article, you should take care of your battery even if you are not using your electric scooter. You should for instance disconnect the battery from your scooter, stock it in a dry room at the good temperature and think about charging it sometimes.
Not charging a battery for a long time period will cause damage. Therefore, a huge penalty of -10 points is applied to the Battery Score!
Temperature Issues
As we already said here, batteries should be stocked and charged at a good temperature. For charging, we recommend a temperature between 0°C and 35°C.
Charging an overheating battery (-0.1)
If you are charging your battery in a room with a temperature higher than 35° Celsus, the battery may be damaged.
That’s why your Battery Health Score will be reduced by an additional 0,1 point.
Charging a battery at low temperature (-0.1)
Batteries hate cold weather. During winter, think about bringing your battery home as often as possible. When charging it, don’t forget the room should be at a temperature higher than 0°C to avoid any damage.
A cold charging temperature will reduce the Health Score by an additional 0,1 point.
Battery Failures
In some cases the battery is dysfunctioning and it does not take long before it is run down. The two main causes come from an unbalanced battery and a BMS Fault. Both involve an important impact on the Health Score that can easily be noticed by the scooter owner. Checking often the Battery Health Score permits to make sure the battery does not have these types of problems.
Unbalanced Battery (-10)
The battery is managed by several components, and indicators measure their effectiveness. Among them, the central control voltage code and the battery block voltage. Both of them should be at the same level.
If those two indicators have a voltage difference higher than 0,3 Volt, the battery is unbalanced. This matter can lead to important damages. Therefore, the problem should be noticed as fast and possible.
An unbalanced battery reduced the Battery Health Score by 10 points.
BMS Fault (-5)
BMS stands for Battery Management System and is an electronic system that manages the battery. The BMS monitors the battery state, reports data, controls its environment, protects the battery, …
To sum up, the BMS management permits the battery to last longer and prevent damages. That’s why a BMS Fault is notified by a 5 points reduction of the Battery Health Score.
