EPA test docs for the US 2021 SR+ have been published. (EPA datafile and EPA new car website not yet updated though.)
https://iaspub.epa.gov/otaqpub/display_file.jsp?docid=51461&flag=1
-> It has a heat pump (heat pump confirmed!)
-> Battery capacity seems similar to that of the 2019, though higher capacity than 2020. (54.7kWh vs. 52.7kWh 2020 vs. 54.5kWh 2019) So probably not the new denser cells...yet. Probably.
-> Efficiency about the same as 2019 SR+, but somewhat worse than 2020 SR+
-> Scalar increase due to heat pump allows increase in EPA range to 263 rated miles. (Matches website.)
True DC efficiency is marginally worse than 2020 (5% worse), as mentioned. This may just be partially measurement error; hard to know the variability. The new vehicle does have a higher RLHP specified than prior years, so that could be part of it (also Tesla can use this to tweak the range if they choose to be pessimistic about it).
Looks like the new charge constant will probably be ~200Wh/rmi. We'll see when someone takes the two key pictures that allows us to calculate this (rated miles, %, projected range, recent efficiency). That's not a certainty; depends on how Tesla manages this - could be as high as 208, and the car could start showing range loss right away as the battery degrades.
Summary: Range increase is due to the heat pump. The heat pump does not appear to help normal efficiency (if anything it hurts it), but appears to improve the cold cycle test (20F FTP) and SC03 cycle (air conditioning) performance. That allows the use of a larger scalar in the formulas. So while the 2021 SR+ traveled less distance while using more energy than the 2020 SR+ in the standard 2-cycle tests, Tesla can claim it has higher range (and in chillier situations, it will).
https://iaspub.epa.gov/otaqpub/display_file.jsp?docid=51461&flag=1
-> It has a heat pump (heat pump confirmed!)
-> Battery capacity seems similar to that of the 2019, though higher capacity than 2020. (54.7kWh vs. 52.7kWh 2020 vs. 54.5kWh 2019) So probably not the new denser cells...yet. Probably.
-> Efficiency about the same as 2019 SR+, but somewhat worse than 2020 SR+
-> Scalar increase due to heat pump allows increase in EPA range to 263 rated miles. (Matches website.)
True DC efficiency is marginally worse than 2020 (5% worse), as mentioned. This may just be partially measurement error; hard to know the variability. The new vehicle does have a higher RLHP specified than prior years, so that could be part of it (also Tesla can use this to tweak the range if they choose to be pessimistic about it).
Looks like the new charge constant will probably be ~200Wh/rmi. We'll see when someone takes the two key pictures that allows us to calculate this (rated miles, %, projected range, recent efficiency). That's not a certainty; depends on how Tesla manages this - could be as high as 208, and the car could start showing range loss right away as the battery degrades.
Summary: Range increase is due to the heat pump. The heat pump does not appear to help normal efficiency (if anything it hurts it), but appears to improve the cold cycle test (20F FTP) and SC03 cycle (air conditioning) performance. That allows the use of a larger scalar in the formulas. So while the 2021 SR+ traveled less distance while using more energy than the 2020 SR+ in the standard 2-cycle tests, Tesla can claim it has higher range (and in chillier situations, it will).
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