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I was driving down from the Lake Tahoe area which is about 7,000 ft down to sea level and I thought that if I maintained a lightly applied brake force it would regenerate the battery faster. I did add about 11 miles to a completely drained battery. After applying the brakes for about a minute, I noticed the brake burning smell. I don't know if it was coming from my Energi or the truck in front of me. After that I only pumped, (meaning keeping the brakes on for 10 seconds or so, then release) the brakes or not used the brakes at all and just let the engine slow the car down maintaining about 55-60mph. It still added another 5-6 miles to the battery from about 5 miles at that point. I did not notice the smell again, although I was not consistently behind a truck either. How long can the brakes be applied before damage is done to them? I have read that it would be better just to use the Low gear option, than using the brakes in mountain driving. Any comments, suggestions?