The average lifespan of a battery mentioned above is still a theoretical measurement of how long a battery lasts. In practical application, the actual lifespan of a traditional, as well as an AGM marine battery, might be considerably longer or shorter depending on the following factors. The factors that we are going to discuss below can potentially bring your battery life to half its expected lifespan. But, with proper maintenance and awareness of these factors, you can avoid that and also make your battery last longer than its design limit.

By taking care of the following factors, you can ensure optimal performance from your battery and also avoid any casualty that might lower the battery life. Here are the factors that affect battery life:

Time

We all know that batteries degrade over time if they are left unused. Thus, it is a major factor that impacts the battery life severely. The longer you keep your battery unused, the shorter its expected lifespan. Even if you drive your vehicle for a short period on a daily basis, you can expect a longer battery life compared to not driving your car for months at a time.

Also, you will have to recharge the unused batteries quite frequently compared to the ones being used on a regular basis. Once the battery is completely discharged, it loses its total capacity, and you will not be able to recharge it back to its original capacity. Thus, it is important to keep your battery in use and avoid keeping it in an unused state for a long time.

Temperature

Climate conditions also play a very important role in this scenario. In extremely cold weather, the batteries are unable to perform at their full potential because the freezing temperature slows down the chemical process inside the battery. It also reduces the batteries’ capacity to hold a charge, thus resulting in quicker discharges than usual. The impact of cold weather is more severe on an older battery compared to a newer one.

On the other hand, an extremely hot temperature is also not suitable for a car battery. Many studies suggest that car batteries are more likely to fail in extremely hot weather rather than cold weather. In theory, the average battery life is cut to half with a mere increase of 15 degrees of ambient temperature. This is caused by the heat generated by the acid and water mixture inside the battery and outside temperature causing slower heat dissipation.

Driving style

Your driving style can also be the cause of the faster degradation of your battery. But unlike most other factors, this is manageable on a personal level, and you can see quite a difference once you adapt a better driving style. Generally, this includes how often you turn on/off your car engine and also the number of peripherals powered by the battery, and how extensively you use them.

If you regularly drive through high traffic areas, it is recommended that you find an alternative route towards your destination. In high traffic areas, the battery is strained more than usual as there is an increase in peripheral usage and a rather slower engine speed which reduces the alternator performance. You can slightly reduce this by turning off the engine in extremely heavy traffic or simply turning off the AC and radio when in traffic longer than usual.