Brake - Inefficiency

Inefficiency

A significant amount of energy is always lost while braking, even with regenerative braking which is not perfectly efficient. Therefore a good metric of efficient energy use while driving is to note how much one is braking. If the majority of deceleration is from unavoidable friction instead of braking, one is squeezing out most of the service from the vehicle. Minimizing brake use is one of the fuel economy-maximizing behaviors.

While energy is always lost during a brake event, a secondary factor that influences efficiency is "off-brake drag", or drag that occurs when the brake is not intentionally actuated. After a braking event, hydraulic pressure drops in the system, allowing the brake caliper pistons to retract. However, this retraction must accommodate all compliance in the system (under pressure) as well as thermal distortion of components like the brake disc or the brake system will drag until the contact with the disc, for example, knocks the pads and pistons back from the rubbing surface. During this time, there can be significant brake drag. This brake drag can lead to significant parasitic power loss, thus impact fuel economy and vehicle performance.

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