Charging @ Home & Charging Before Driving in AM

[maxse]

Do most of you just plug in and charge when you get home and let it sit (charged) overnight or time the charging so it stops within an hour of leaving in the morning?

Wondering what is better for the battery...What I have been doing is charging to 80% when I get home and then scheduling a charge from the 80% to 90% in the AM before leaving.

 

[jerry33]

I set the timer to end about the time I'm going to start driving. The ideas are: 1. The battery sits most of the day at a lower level, 2. In winter the battery is warm(er) when I start driving. 3. In summer the battery charges at the coolest part of the day. 90% is a good level, unless you hardly drive at all, then 80%.

 

[maxse]

Makes sense so its just timing the scheduled charge then so the vehicle sits idle most of the night until early AM. Too bad we can't estimate the charge time and set on the app

 

[arcus]

I set the timer to end about the time I'm going to start driving. The ideas are: 1. The battery sits most of the day at a lower level, 2. In winter the battery is warm(er) when I start driving. 3. In summer the battery charges at the coolest part of the day. 90% is a good level, unless you hardly drive at all, then 80%.

Similar - when at home. Now I mostly charge at work.

 

[maxse]

We have 3 phase at work - I have seen mixed answers on the forums. It seems like you can wire up a 14-50 and get 208v so it just charges a bit slower...

 

[jerry33]

Makes sense so its just timing the scheduled charge then so the vehicle sits idle most of the night until early AM. Too bad we can't estimate the charge time and set on the app

If you have a regular commute, it doesn't take long to figure out when the start time is. I never worried about the weekends. Agreed that it would be a nice feature for the App.

 

[jerry33]

We have 3 phase at work - I have seen mixed answers on the forums. It seems like you can wire up a 14-50 and get 208v so it just charges a bit slower...

208 V is industrial power, not residential power which is 240 V. However, it's easy to just turn down the amps to charge slower. I use 33 amps myself.

 

[tranzndance]

I have it set to charge during off-peak hours.

If cold temperature could be an issue, then setting charging to finish near drive time could be helpful to ensure regenerative braking availability. I used to do this but when I got into a pattern where I would charge when parked in the garage, the temperature didn't drop enough for it to be an issue.

Now, I set the charge time so that it is likely to support longer charge times, if needed. I've been meaning to adjust to be a little bit earlier but I keep forgetting. Most days, the car is done in 50 minutes.

 

[Feathermerchan]

Power is (basically) Amps X Volts. So charging with 208V is slower than 240V using the same Amps.
The charger in the Model 3 will supposedly work on 277V also.

 

[ewoodrick]

Stop worrying about it!!!
Plug in and be happy.
In the winter time, if you are not parking in a garage, you may think about charging just-in-time,even then, some folks like to do this, just so that they don't get regen limit. But regen limit isn't a bad thing, you just have to use brakes a little more.

At this point in the year, just plug and play!

Tesla designed the car and the battery so that you don't have to worry about it, so don't.

At this point there are so many new Model 3 drivers who have only driven in the winter months that they don't understand how the car drives most of the year. And remember, just about everything that people are saying hasn't been shown and Tesla batteries from the last few year. A lot of the recommendations come from non-car batteries, which are different.

 

[bob_p]

From the latest Owner's Manual:

"The most important way to preserve the Battery is to LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when you are not using it. This is particularly important if you are not planning to drive Model X for several weeks. When plugged in, Model X wakes up when needed to automatically maintain a charge level that maximizes the lifetime of the Battery."

While some owners manage their charging by charging below 90%, adjusting the charging rate, or timing when the vehicle charges, it's not clear that has any long term impact on the battery.

We've had a Tesla since early 2013, and now have an S 100D and X 100D, and we've always charged to 90%, leaving the vehicles plugged in while we're at home.

Keep it simple... Plug in when you're at home - and let the vehicle charge to 90%. Even when plugged in, the vehicle will use a little charge and periodically the software will add more charge.

 

[BerTX]

Makes sense so its just timing the scheduled charge then so the vehicle sits idle most of the night until early AM. Too bad we can't estimate the charge time and set on the app

If you have an Android phone, Dashboard for Tesla gives pretty much complete control over charging. Just set the time you want it to be done.

Vendor - Dashboard for Tesla - the better app for your Tesla

 

[Buster1]

If you’re looking for efficiency, it’s best to charge right after driving when the battery is warm. A warm battery charges more efficiently (and with less line loss) than a cold battery.

 

[ucmndd]

If you’re looking for efficiency, it’s best to charge right after driving when the battery is warm. A warm battery charges more efficiently (and with less line loss) than a cold battery.

Depends how you define efficiency I guess, along with your climate. Driving with a cold battery is less efficient because regen is limited. Which one results in less overall energy consumption? Likely situation dependent.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

For better or worse, I plug in the car when arriving home but have the car scheduled to charge at midnight, when my electric rate goes from $0.20/kWh to $0.00/kWh.

 

[jerry33]

For better or worse, I plug in the car when arriving home but have the car scheduled to charge at midnight, when my electric rate goes from $0.20/kWh to $0.00/kWh.

That seems a good strategy. The worst case is that it is non-harmful to either pocketbook or battery.

 

[Alketi]

OP, in the winter you ideally want the charge to end (or some part of charging to end) just before you leave in the morning. This is because charging will heat the battery pack and you'll have regen braking available. In the summer I don't worry about it.

 

[boonedocks]

Always plugged in but charging set for 3:30am start time for both of our S & X cars. We have an EV rate of .067kWh between 11:00pm and 7:00am and a 3:30am start time has both of our cars charged to 90% before 7:00am 99% of the time.

 

[maximizese]

I plug in when my wife drives into the garage. The Tesla is set to begin charging at 10pm when our electricity rate goes to super off-peak. I adjust the capacity based roughly on what my wife will be driving the next day (she can drive anywhere from 20 miles locally to 180 miles to the office and courthouse). I start at 40a, then before I got to bed I dial back the Juicebox amperage to a slower rate (12-24a) so it'll finish charging just before my wife leaves for her morning workout or commute.

Sounds complicated, but it's my routine.

 

[Science fan]

I just let it charge to 80% whenever I get back into the garage. That way, if there is an emergency of some sort, I can go pretty far without worrying if I have enough charge and also have enough of a charge in case of a power outage. We don't have different pricing for different times of day. Before a vacation, I run the car down to 50% and place the charging amperage at 10, so it will automatically slowly recharge for vampire loss every few days. No issue with cold here in South Florida. The only time I delay completing charge until just before leaving is if we are going on a long trip and I want to be at 100% before starting out.