I only drive maybe 15 miles a day. I keep reading that people should precondition the battery. I've read that when you tell the Model 3 you want to leave at like 7 am it will heat the car. My question is, if I leave the car plugged in all night because I will only have a level 1 charger because I don't really go very far for work, will that keep the battery warm or no? I guess i'm confused on what does preconditionaing the battery even mean? Sorry, I've looked at other answers, but some people say it's when you warm up the car, while others say it's when you leave the car plugged in. Maybe i'm asking the wrong question, i'm not totally sure.
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The act of charging warms the batteries, but level 1 (120V and low amps) won't warm much. The car will heat the battery if it's too cold to even accept a charge, but that's a fairly low temperature.
Once the car finishes charging, being plugged will not warm the battery anymore until it needs to start charging again because your battery depleted a bit.
Preconditioning the battery happens automatically if you heat the cabin or have departure scheduled. The car will warm the battery until it's warm enough to provide some regen and be reasonably efficient. This is NOT mandatory at all. If you do it, your drive will be more efficient...but you will have spent energy warming it.
Once the car finishes charging, being plugged will not warm the battery anymore until it needs to start charging again because your battery depleted a bit.
Preconditioning the battery happens automatically if you heat the cabin or have departure scheduled. The car will warm the battery until it's warm enough to provide some regen and be reasonably efficient. This is NOT mandatory at all. If you do it, your drive will be more efficient...but you will have spent energy warming it.
RayK
Active Member
Pre-conditioning (i.e., warming up) the battery is done so that it can be charged more efficiently. That is to say, faster. Mostly done for Supercharging or other level 3 (L3) stations. If you are driving and your navigation destination is a Supercharger, the battery will begin warming many minutes prior to arriving.
That totally is not necessary (pre conditioning the battery). Its only really "a thing" if you are trying to get maximum range out of that trip. Since you state you dont go far, its not something you need to worry about (pre conditioning the battery).
Now, for your comfort, you can pre condition the CABIN (like turning on the HVAC) and let the car bring the cabin to a comfortable temp before you get in. I do that manually, myself, since I no longer have standard "commute" times / days into the office. Takes 5-7 minutes, but I am parked in an enclosed garage.
TL ; DR - dont worry about pre conditioning the battery unless you are going on a trip thats long enough that you will need to charge somewhere other than home, before you return home. Pre condition your cabin for comfort, if desired.
Thank you, I am learning ab bit more about the per-conditioning. Thank you for explaining it to me.
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