Charging strategy

[mick4545]

I try to average around 50%. I'me retired, so car plugged in set to 50% if I have a trip the next day I estimate the kWh needed, top up so that consumption is either side of 50%.

If I estimate 40 kWh needed I'll charge to 70% and aim to arrive back with 30%. The car is parked outside and I don't plug in if heavy rain is forecast. August 19 car and it has never been charged more than 90%.

 

[piotroek]

I am in the same situation as @Drmouse.
All tesla is doing is daily school run + trip to stop occasionally.

I set charge level to 80% and connect it twice a week for 4 hours (octopus go + zappi) not sure if this is the best approach. Car usually operates on battery charged less than 60%. Sometimes I get it down to 20% or even 10%. Usually when charging starts, car is between 20-40%. Each night car connected to charge gives me 35-38%.

 

[LongRanger]

Add 40% when it needs it to maximise use of 4-hour overnight cheap Octopus window.

Aim to keep it in the 40-80% range but it varies as I use the car a couple of times a week at the moment, not commuting anywhere. COVID has changed my profile from 60/40 business/private mileage split to 0/100.

I don’t tend to aim for higher than 85% in the battery at all for regular scenario, a combo of scheduled charging and the slider on phone app deals with that.

For example last night I had 24% remaining, added 40 overnight. I need the car tomorrow so will repeat the overnight pattern but have set slider to 85%. That will leave me with around 65% after tomorrow’s trip which will then just get left until following weekend.

Next long journey will be just after Xmas, so will make sure preceding couple of overnights is getting me to 100%. If my family are feeling generous I may get a Xmas bonus of overnight trickle charge at destination #SantaCharge

If and when semi-regular commuting kicks back in, for me that is 200 miles on a Tuesday and another 200 on a Thursday - so pre-Tuesdays will be the strategy above and pre-Thursdays will be dealt with via supercharging away from home.

 

[Bernard_S]

I live in a bungalow where the charger is on the wall outside the bedroom. I'd like to leave the car plugged in and set at 80% but if I do it keeps topping it up every night for just a minute or two to 80%.

It wouldn't be a problem except that when the charger contactor comes in and drops out it does it with such a clunk it wakes me up. (I've tried different contactors)

Why does it do this ? If it had a wider dead band of say 3% it would probably only top up once a week.

I guess that with an App I could set whatever limit I want but the Tesla default of charging for a few minutes doesn't make any sense.

 

[Drmouse]

I live in a bungalow where the charger is on the wall outside the bedroom. I'd like to leave the car plugged in and set at 80% but if I do it keeps topping it up every night for just a minute or two to 80%.

This is why I changed things initially, although for different reasons. First, I noticed it was not very efficient to top up that tiny bit every night. I also heard that such tiny charges were bad for the battery.

Given that you are using it so little, and that you have the issue with noise from the charger, might it be better to disable the schedule unless you have a reasonable amount to top up (i.e. you've been out for a drive)? Or see if you can get the charger moved? Must be really irritating!

 

[Adopado]

I also heard that such tiny charges were bad for the battery.

I am very surprised at that and would be really interested in a source if you have one. Anything I've read to date suggests that the batteries do best with small charges. I can imagine a scenario where it's best not to keep doing small top ups say between 90 and 95% for example but that's to do with unnecesarily maintaining a high level of charge rather than the small charges per se. Small charges in the mid-range I have always believed to be absolutely fine.

 

[Drmouse]

I am very surprised at that and would be really interested in a source if you have one.

I don't have one and can't find it now. I may have misremembered it, misread it, imagined it, or inferred it from something else.

 

[Adopado]

I don't have one and can't find it now. I may have misremembered it, misread it, imagined it, or inferred it from something else.

I suspect that if @Glan gluaisne spots this exchange he will probably be able to give us chapter and verse!

 

[Jibjab]

I am very surprised at that and would be really interested in a source if you have one. Anything I've read to date suggests that the batteries do best with small charges. I can imagine a scenario where it's best not to keep doing small top ups say between 90 and 95% for example but that's to do with unnecesarily maintaining a high level of charge rather than the small charges per se. Small charges in the mid-range I have always believed to be absolutely fine.

I’d be interested in thoughts on this too. The most I’m doing at the moment would be 15 miles a day, and often less. I’m just plugging in each time I return, regardless of mileage, and set to 90%, or whatever the top ‘bar’ is on the daily setting.

 

[tsh2]

Small cycles are certainly better than >80% sort of cycles, this is the first time I've heard that super-short cycles are bad - although they are probably not energy efficient especially in cold weather.

I have a supercharger 7% away which gives a nice margin for a round trip because even a couple of minutes stop on the way home will get me home from there comfortably. I have realised that the supercharger is not much use for an unplanned trip if I leave home with 70% or more, it just leads to a very slow charge.

I generally don't worry if I have over 60% charge (wait for a sunny day, or at least off peak rates). If I have <10%, I will charge as soon as I get home to about 20-25%.

 

[Adopado]

If I have <10%, I will charge as soon as I get home to about 20-25%.

Do you mean not waiting for cheap rate and then top up further later? I think I would probably do that too but I wonder if leaving it a few hours really does make a difference?

 

[tsh2]

Do you mean not waiting for cheap rate and then top up further later? I think I would probably do that too but I wonder if leaving it a few hours really does make a difference?

It's certainly going to be marginal if it does make a measurable difference to the cells to stand for a few hours, but it is rare so the cost of not waiting for cheap rate is negligible.

Particularly if the weather is cold, I think I am a little more comfortable having enough range to go out again if needed (despite having a 2nd car for actual emergencies). I feel that I have already put off (or forgotten) to charge enough times to have paid for the difference in peak or rapid rates.