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Charging
- Thread starter Rjg60
- Start date
Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
Whatever fits your needs and desires. I haven't plugged in for a few days.
But this is a beautiful time of the year not to go out and take some evening drives.
But this is a beautiful time of the year not to go out and take some evening drives.
srs5694
Active Member
I tend to agree. A lot of people here overthink this, IMHO. It's true that Tesla recommends leaving the car plugged in whenever possible when it's not being driven; however, there's a wide range of possible owner needs, and Tesla must have engineered their cars to work reasonably well across a wide range of those needs. Older Tesla models, and some non-Tesla EVs, have been around for long enough that we'd probably have heard the horror stories by now if, the batteries were as delicate as some here seem to imply. So far, the worst horror stories I've heard are from Nissan Leaf owners, whose batteries tend to degrade faster than many people consider acceptable, but that seems to be a matter of their being air-cooled (which Teslas' are not) and/or a quirk of their chemistry. For a Tesla, I'd say to keep the charge between about 20% and 90% most of the time and use Superchargers sparingly, but otherwise use the car as is convenient.
Personally, I park my car outside (I have a driveway but no garage), so I charge when the SOC drops below about 50% and when the weather is good (just so I don't have to be fumbling with the charging equipment in the rain).
Speak for yourself. It's been overcast and rainy here in Rhode Island for most of the past two or three weeks.
The sun's coming out right now, though.Yes thank you, I meant 240 volts. Thank you for the feedback.I think you mean 240 Volt, not 240 watt. Check your manual. It tells you to leave it plugged in, but some people don't seem to like to do that. Also there are a LOT of thread discussing it on here
Thanks srs. Agreed the weather here has been aweful. I got my car early March and love my wh per mile down significantly with the warmer weather. I like your charging routine.I tend to agree. A lot of people here overthink this, IMHO. It's true that Tesla recommends leaving the car plugged in whenever possible when it's not being driven; however, there's a wide range of possible owner needs, and Tesla must have engineered their cars to work reasonably well across a wide range of those needs. Older Tesla models, and some non-Tesla EVs, have been around for long enough that we'd probably have heard the horror stories by now if, the batteries were as delicate as some here seem to imply. So far, the worst horror stories I've heard are from Nissan Leaf owners, whose batteries tend to degrade faster than many people consider acceptable, but that seems to be a matter of their being air-cooled (which Teslas' are not) and/or a quirk of their chemistry. For a Tesla, I'd say to keep the charge between about 20% and 90% most of the time and use Superchargers sparingly, but otherwise use the car as is convenient.
Personally, I park my car outside (I have a driveway but no garage), so I charge when the SOC drops below about 50% and when the weather is good (just so I don't have to be fumbling with the charging equipment in the rain).
Speak for yourself. It's been overcast and rainy here in Rhode Island for most of the past two or three weeks.
Now that you have the car, you might find it useful to read the manual. This and many other questions are answered. Some you probably haven’t even thought of yet.
It doesn't say much about plugging beside it is better to plug it in order for the battery to keep charged. My interpretation, and insist on the term interpretation is keeping it plugged will avoid the owner to come back to an empty battery, hence an useable car with all kind of trouble to get it going. But if you make sure that the battery is within a good soc, i believe it is not going to damage your battery.
Same with the 90% recommendation. For me it is more like, charge it UP to 90% on daily use. It means it is not going to damage it to let it sit at 60% everyday.
I just don’t understand where questions like this even come from. Would anyone consider unplugging their toaster because it’s finished making toast? What about a TV? Has anyone in the history of television wondered if they should unplug it when the show ends because they probably won’t watch again for three days? Yet this seems to be a common question here from new owners. Why do some people think that perhaps they should not leave their car plugged in?
srs5694
Active Member
Yes, people do the things you're presenting as ridiculous examples. The main reason I know of, at least in the realm of TVs and other home appliances, is to minimize vampire drain. That term isn't unique to the Tesla world -- an awful lot of modern appliances draw a little bit of power whenever they're plugged in to enable them to respond to remote controls, display clocks or status information, retrieve firmware updates, etc. Such draw is small compared to the power consumed when you're actually using the device, but if it occurs 24/7 and the device isn't used that much, it can add up to a lot compared to the device's total power use. I recall that in the 1970s or 1980s, manufacturers of CRT-based TVs introduced a feature to cause the TV to come on quickly. That was great, but it used so much vampire draw that the TV's total power use doubled compared to TVs without that feature. Today's "smart" TVs also draw a lot of power to keep their computer sides working at all times, so although the LCDs they use are much more energy-efficient than old-style CRTs, the total energy savings are often nil. Unplugging devices when they aren't in use can save a lot of energy.
EVs, of course, aren't typical appliances. Among other things, unlike a TV, an EV must be unplugged to be used, so plugging them in and out is a necessary part of their use cycle. There are several reasons one might want to unplug them shortly after they finish charging, some more valid than others. The ones that spring to mind include:
- Vampire draw -- In theory, a Tesla won't consume any more power when plugged in than when not; when not plugged in, it simply draws from the battery rather than from the EVSE, which is arguably worse. OTOH, with the 2019.8.x software, my Model 3 never fell asleep when it was plugged in (even after it finished charging), so vampire draw was worse. That seems to have been a bug; my car is falling asleep when plugged in now that I'm on 2019.12.1.x. This bug could return, though; or there could be a more subtle reason for the car to consume more electricity when plugged in than when not.
- Trip hazard -- Depending on the layout of one's garage or driveway, unplugging the car when it's not charging may be desirable to get the cord out of the way because it's a trip hazard. Similarly, if the cord is just lying on the ground, anybody who steps on it will be increasing wear and tear on the cord.
- Weather -- If the car is parked outside, unplugging before bad weather arrives may be a good idea to minimize plug and socket exposure to water (liquid and/or frozen).
- Multiple cars, one EVSE -- If you've got two EVs but one EVSE, it may be necessary to unplug one to charge the other.
- Convenience -- This isn't so much about unplugging, but if you go for a short drive, starting with a full battery, and don't expect to be needing that full capacity any time soon, it's just a little bit easier to not plug the car in when you return.
- Quicker departure -- Depending on the layout of the car, EVSE, etc., it may be convenient to unplug the car after charging is complete if you happen to be there, which can save a few seconds later when you get in to depart.
- Non-home charging -- If you seldom or never charge at home for whatever reason (you live in an apartment, you charge at work, you don't have 240v charging capacity at home, etc.), then the car will simply be unplugged most of the time.
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Agreed. Especially since the next sentence after “LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN” on page 122 says “particularly important if you are not planning to drive Model 3 for several weeks.”
My interpretation is that if you keep the charge between 50-90%, unplugged is probably fine. (Based on allowed charge levels provided by Tesla.) However, the vehicle will self discharge over time, so it is important to keep it plugged in to maintain it in that region of SoC. If you happen to leave a door open it also provides some insurance (drains much more rapidly in that case).
I try to plug mine in at home whenever it is convenient, and set the charge level so that it will charge not at all, or will charge the minimum amount. If it is below 50%, it will charge, of course. Tesla does not allow you to not charge in this case (can be delayed but not prevented AFAIK) - so I figure it is best to charge. Anyway, that way if I decide I need a higher charge level, I can always set it remotely.
And then I do my actual charging at work.
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Incredulocious
LEAF → RAV4EV → Model 3 → Model Y
As others have replied... because you don't have to unplug your toaster or TV to use it. I only plug it back in to charge it back up overnight when needed. I'll leave it unplugged for days as I come and go only making short trips. Might only use 25% over many days. Why plug/unplug between every drive? Plus, we're sharing one charging cable for three EV's and I do not want to drive over the cable so we keep it out of the way when it's not needed.
On the other hand, in the winter up in the mountains, I'll plug in every night to top up to 90% because it's more likely we might need the added kWh with the weather and road conditions.
(As an aside, I do have to keep the RAV4 EV's 12V battery on a tender since I use it so rarely. Luckily there is no other phantom drain and it can sit for months if need be. Note: it's also a Tesla battery and drivetrain, just different car electronics.)
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