Cold Morning Pre-Heat?

[Driver Dave]

Hello Tesla New England...

Getting some conflicting info on pre-heating car. Max or not? Turn on car or not? Do nothing?

Feel free to check your preference in poll and leave any other background info here as well.

Cheers!

 

[EdA]

I'm not sure what you're asking, regarding turning the car on or not.
If you use the phone app and turn the heat on 10 or so minutes before you get in the car you should be fine no? Perhaps a little longer below 32F?

 

[tliving]

Here's what I do:

1) Try to time charge end (if charging) so it ends just before I leave (AM commute)
2) Warm up 15 minutes before via app (mostly for my own comfort)
3) I drive highway most of the way so the pack heats up quickly.
4) "Smart" preconditioning isn't so don't waste your time on it.

 

[Driver Dave]

I'm not sure what you're asking, regarding turning the car on or not.

In the app, you can "turn on" climate, but you can also "start" the car.

Wondering if starting the car does something that just turning on climate doesn't.

For example, turning on climate warms up the inside of the car, but possibly starting the car will get other systems going to warm up the battery, regeneration systems, etc.?

 

[ArtInCT]

Like @tliving said, set your charge time to end just before you depart in the AM.
Turn on climate to pre-heat the car 10 to 15 minutes before you depart and while on shore power, this way you do not deplete the traction battery pack.

This works the best for me in cold weather.

 

[tliving]

In the app, you can "turn on" climate, but you can also "start" the car.

Wondering if starting the car does something that just turning on climate doesn't.

For example, turning on climate warms up the inside of the car, but possibly starting the car will get other systems going to warm up the battery, regeneration systems, etc.?

Start just enables driving access, it doesn't change the car's temperature or other things in any significant way.

Just remember it takes a lot of time and power to bring up the temperature of 7000 batteries. Warming your cabin to 70 or even 80 for 15 mins isn't going to make a big difference. Charging is long sustained energy (and the heat is otherwise wasted so its a good way to use it)

 

[SureValla]

Hello Tesla New England...

Getting some conflicting info on pre-heating car. Max or not? Turn on car or not? Do nothing?

Feel free to check your preference in poll and leave any other background info here as well.

Cheers!

I'm a little confused on what your asking too. Are you saying "Should I warm up my car to avoid damaging it by driving on a cold battery?" Similar to how people used to warm up ICE engines a ways back?

 

[Driver Dave]

"Should I warm up my car to avoid damaging it by driving on a cold battery?"

Nope, not for damage concerns, more for:

* Does getting things warmed up while on shore power help it use less while driving and not waste range?
* I've heard that regenerative braking can sometimes not work until things are warmed up.
* Just a general does getting a machine warmed up after being cold have all systems be ready to work efficiently.

And finally:

* Just curious to see what other people are doing as we head into winter.

 

[ArtInCT]

I'm a little confused on what your asking too. Are you saying "Should I warm up my car to avoid damaging it by driving on a cold battery?" Similar to how people used to warm up ICE engines a ways back?

SureValla, on really cold mornings (if your S in in an unheated grarage), your main traction battery will become cold soaked which will limit your power and range to some extent and also will limit regen a great deal. If you do not preheat your pack, the pack will use the energy in your pack while you are driving to warm up the pack. This will diminish your driving range to some extent. Having RANGE MODE on will limit this use factor a bit.

If you preheat your pack by doing your daily charge just prior to leaving the act of charging the traction battery will warm the cells and thus the pack. Also by preheating your car interior using SHORE POWER you will reduce the use of the traction battery to warm the car's interior air and seats etc.

BTW, I am in Stratford....

ARTinCT

 

[David29]

I agree with others who say you preheat the car using the phone app and try to time the charging so it ends shortly before you will leave. Don't "start" the car.
And if your car is plugged in, the preheating will come from the charging circuit, not the battery. But if you want to be comfortable and do not need absolute maximum range, go ahead and preheat even if you are not plugged in.
BTW, I am nearby, in Dedham, and my experience is that you only need a few minutes of preheating on a chilly day, but you might need the full half hour only on the coldest winter days.
One other note: The heating system will turn on as you left it. So you might want to think about how to set the controls (auto vs manual, fan speed, recirc, etc) to get the most benefit from your preheating. The seat heaters cannot be actuated remotely, though, nor can the Defrost mode or heated steering wheel or other features. (Although the Defrost mode cannot be turned on, you can set the air flow to include the windshield.)

 

[Driver Dave]

The seat heaters cannot be actuated remotely, though, nor can the Defrost mode or heated steering wheel or other features. (Although the Defrost mode cannot be turned on, you can set the air flow to include the windshield.)

I was wondering if you did "start" the car, it would turn on some of these other things? Probably not seat heaters as they need a "seat"

 

[stevenrobidas]

How can you schedule pre-heating your car? I leave at 8am every day. I've only owned the car for two days. I don't have the sub zero package. I will charge at work so thought I'd mention that.

 

[sbanks]

I don't believe you can schedule, preheating your car. But if you turn Smart Preconditioning on and you do leave every day at 8am then the car will learn your habits and have it warmed up for you when you hop in at 8am every morning.

 

[Veritas1980]

Some external applications/websites can do it. Teslafi has a new beta where you can schedule the HVAC to start at a certain location (i.e. home) at a certain time.

 

[scaesare]

@ArtInCT helped point out that there are two related issues in pre-heating the car:

- Cabin Heat: This is straight forward, and you simply allow enough time ot get the car toasty based on your local climate/temps and personal preference. Doing this on shore power allows the battery to only have to "maintain" the cabin while driving, eliminating an initial pack energy draw.

- Pack Heating: The car has a separate 6KW heater it uses for pack conditioning. This is also triggered by enabling the cabin HVAC. However, as the pack is a ~1200 lb. mass, this can draw quite a bit of energy and take quite some time in getting a cold pack up to temp.

For these reasons, attempting to complete your charging as close to possible prior to departure allows you to take advantage of if the waste heat during that process that warms the battery naturally.

In my garage, which can get reasonably cold in the winter, if I finish charging and then trigger cabin heat within 15 minutes or so of my morning departure, both I and my pack are quite comfy...

(although now that I have workplace charging, I may have to alter that routine some...)

 

[chjch]

How can you schedule pre-heating your car? I leave at 8am every day. I've only owned the car for two days. I don't have the sub zero package. I will charge at work so thought I'd mention that.

Congratulations!

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

Some external applications/websites can do it. Teslafi has a new beta where you can schedule the HVAC to start at a certain location (i.e. home) at a certain time.

Indeed - been using it for the last few days on these fall mornings. No idea why Tesla can't implement this themselves, but happy to pay the small annual fee for TeslaFi and support the developer for providing real-world usable features. Plus all the data is really fun to see!