200 Wh/mile to use heater?

[zhu-]

Since I received my Model 3 about three weeks ago, I have almost never seen anything under 300 Wh/mile. Usual range for me was easily 350-450 Wh/mile. Since it was new I didn't think much of it but eventually realized I had pretty poor range. I noticed a few guys talking about not using their heaters as much so I decided to turn it off and now I can reach 225-280 Wh/mile easily with even the seat warmers on and music at 60%+ volume.

Is this normal? If so, how many others also sit in the cold during longer trips to save on watt hours?

 

[Big Earl]

Yes, it's normal. No, I'm not going to be cold in my $60,000 car.

 

[Garlan Garner]

Since I received my Model 3 about three weeks ago, I have almost never seen anything under 300 Wh/mile. Usual range for me was easily 350-450 Wh/mile. Since it was new I didn't think much of it but eventually realized I had pretty poor range. I noticed a few guys talking about not using their heaters as much so I decided to turn it off and now I can reach 225-280 Wh/mile easily with even the seat warmers on and music at 60%+ volume.

Is this normal? If so, how many others also sit in the cold during longer trips to save on watt hours?

Yes that number is normal.

ALSO - the seat heaters are much more efficient than the air vent heat. Set the heated seat to the MAX setting and turn down the air temp a bit.....and you would be much better off.


Its been said that people perish due to a lack of knowledge. I'm just trying to share a little.

 

[happyzod]

Since I received my Model 3 about three weeks ago, I have almost never seen anything under 300 Wh/mile. Usual range for me was easily 350-450 Wh/mile. Since it was new I didn't think much of it but eventually realized I had pretty poor range. I noticed a few guys talking about not using their heaters as much so I decided to turn it off and now I can reach 225-280 Wh/mile easily with even the seat warmers on and music at 60%+ volume.

Is this normal? If so, how many others also sit in the cold during longer trips to save on watt hours?

The motor will eventually create heat for you but it is good to pre-heat your car.

 

[MountainPass]

On our Indiana road trip, we were able to attain a consistent 150wh/km by only using the HVAC to defog the windshield and relying only on seat heaters. It was chilly of course, and when we ran into a headwind that threatened to stop us from reaching the charger, we used tractor-trailers to block the wind. With the Autopilot on it's closest follow distance it was still effective, but the closer we got, the better our efficiency. Drafting in close proximity is dangerous though!

 

[Big Earl]

The motor will eventually create heat for you but it is good to pre-heat your car.

The motor will not create cabin heat. The cabin heat is 100% electric from a PTC heating unit in the dash.

 

[lolder]

The motor will eventually create heat for you but it is good to pre-heat your car.

The motor does not create cabin heat in the M3. Use the seat heater on low, set cabin temp to 60, turn off AC if humidity allows and chose vents. If you leave it in Auto at 70-75, the resistance heating will operate and also maybe the AC resulting in 30%+ energy use increase. Preheat the car preferably plugged in.

 

[SageBrush]

how many others also sit in the cold during longer trips to save on watt hours?

Not me -- I use the seat heater. My winter driving is in the range of 250 Wh/mile

 

[MoreAgain]

Most of my drives have been in the 700-800 Wh/mi range because I have too much fun. My wife on the other hand averages around 230 in her car.

 

[chronopc]

The heater is a big energy drain. I use it sparingly and mostly just use the seat warmer.

 

[mswlogo]

I’ve been getting around 330 on my commute to work ( which is fairly short). I was playing with things last night and wanted to see what my charge rate would be if I shut heat off. My charge rate went from 10 to 20 mph with the same amps as soon as I turned the heat off. While sitting in car playing around with radio.

Any way, This morning I looked down at my kwh/mi and I see 218 on my commute to work !!! That’s with no regen. 30F over night.

It’s ALL heater that is chewing up range. Regen, state of battery etc. is in the noise.

I actually wasn’t that cold either

I sure wish we could control how much air is recirculated vs all or nothing. With recirculate on the Windows fog up like crazy. And fast.

I Had A/C off. I wonder with A/C on (even in cold temps) and recirculate on, if that would keep windshield fog free and allow heat to recirculate and not have to constantly heat cold outside air which is what is chewing up kw.

I tried heated seats and lower temp on HVAC and I can’t stand my face and hands being cold (in my “luxury” vehicle)

 

[lolder]

If you have a reasonable commute just leave it in Auto and plug in every night. You're electricity cost will only go up a cent or two per mile. It is also amazing how many owners of a $60 K car don't have garages up north. I lived up north for 42 years and would never dream of having a dwelling without an attached garage ( or of living in a city ). Your results may vary.

 

[Nate977p]

If you have a reasonable commute just leave it in Auto and plug in every night. You're electricity cost will only go up a cent or two per mile. It is also amazing how many owners of a $60 K car don't have garages up north. I lived up north for 42 years and would never dream of having a dwelling without an attached garage ( or of living in a city ). Your results may vary.

Not to go on a tangent here but pretty much Portland Maine to Washington DC is one big city... Plenty of people do not have access to a private garage and many buildings do not have EV charging. Looking at buildings now, the ones that do, typically have 2 or 4 free for all EV spots, so no guarantee you will even get one. I know rest of country may be different and not everyone in the North East lives in the city, but a large portion does.

Look at the wiki article... It's actually super interesting if you are interested in this stuff...

Northeast megalopolis - Wikipedia

 

[ℬête Noire]

Yes, it's normal. No, I'm not going to be cold in my $60,000 car.

Dude, do you even Winter?

@SageBrush has it though, start with seat heater. Dress for season, you'll heat the interior yourself. You'll need just enough outside air to keep the windshield clear of your breath. Manual setting to windshield vent only, turn the temp to LO. Eventually if the outside temp may drop to the point you need to bring the heat up a hair, to battle the condensation, but you won't need as much.

That brings us to the one of two things I feel the Model 3 is really lacking, IMO. It's the 21st century, where's the steering wheel heater???

P.S. The other thing missing is SMS to voice, voice to SMS integration for Android and iOS phones.

 

[Nate977p]

Dude, do you even Winter?

View attachment 360537


@SageBrush has it though, start with seat heater. Dress for season, you'll heat the interior yourself. You'll need just enough outside air to keep the windshield clear of your breath. Manual setting to windshield vent only, turn the temp to LO. Eventually if the outside temp may drop to the point you need to bring the heat up a hair, to battle the condensation, but you won't need as much.

That brings us to the one of two things I feel the Model 3 is really lacking, IMO. It's the 21st century, where's the steering wheel heater???

P.S. The other thing missing is SMS to voice, voice to SMS integration for Android and iOS phones.

360 Camera, cooled seats, Android Auto.

I can live without, but for the segment should really have those. Most mainstream cars now do!

 

[TeeEmCee]

On our Indiana road trip, we were able to attain a consistent 150wh/km by only using the HVAC to defog the windshield and relying only on seat heaters. It was chilly of course, and when we ran into a headwind that threatened to stop us from reaching the charger, we used tractor-trailers to block the wind. With the Autopilot on it's closest follow distance it was still effective, but the closer we got, the better our efficiency. Drafting in close proximity is dangerous though!

That's dedication right there!

 

[TeeEmCee]

Most of my drives have been in the 700-800 Wh/mi range because I have too much fun. My wife on the other hand averages around 230 in her car.View attachment 360435 View attachment 360437

The Internet approves of this!

 

[ℬête Noire]

cooled seats,

Meh, I haven't see the hottest of hot days yet but I've seen 90F+ with high humidity and the AC was boss enough to easily handle keeping it entirely unnoticeable without venting. The pre-cool from a distance via the app is probably what would do it? Though I didn't find I even needed that.

<snipped OT stuff>

 

[EVDRVN]

Since I received my Model 3 about three weeks ago, I have almost never seen anything under 300 Wh/mile. Usual range for me was easily 350-450 Wh/mile. Since it was new I didn't think much of it but eventually realized I had pretty poor range. I noticed a few guys talking about not using their heaters as much so I decided to turn it off and now I can reach 225-280 Wh/mile easily with even the seat warmers on and music at 60%+ volume.

Is this normal? If so, how many others also sit in the cold during longer trips to save on watt hours?

The stereo has no meaningful impact on range at any volume.

 

[JeffK]

On our Indiana road trip, we were able to attain a consistent 150wh/km by only using the HVAC to defog the windshield and relying only on seat heaters. It was chilly of course, and when we ran into a headwind that threatened to stop us from reaching the charger, we used tractor-trailers to block the wind. With the Autopilot on it's closest follow distance it was still effective, but the closer we got, the better our efficiency. Drafting in close proximity is dangerous though!

We have superchargers in Indiana on all the major routes. No need to be uncomfortable. The biggest issue you'll face here is the average speed is 80+ mph which hurts efficiency.