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We need to decide on how many thermistors are actually necessary. As a reminder, the more data we collect, the more we need to transmit over CAN and then wirelessly. We can reduce the rate at which we broadcast data, but it's all a tradeoff.
Follow-up -
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After more research, we've found that most EV manufacturers (including Tesla) only use passive balancing. This whitepaper from Li-Ion BMS is a good comparison between active and passive cell balancing. Notably, there is a difference between balancing and redistribution. The goal of balancing is to equalize SOCs, while the goal of redistribution is to equalize capacities. Generally, it seems like the cell balancing algorithm used has a greater impact than the type of balancing. In addition, we determined that our powertrain, solar array, and aerodynamics will have a far greater effect on performance.
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