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Conditioning time on cold morning

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Now that the mobile app shows the battery being conditioned, I've been experimenting with the time it takes to clear the icon (and drive with a conditioned battery).

This morning was 30 degrees outside (-1 C) and 40 degrees in the cabin (4 C).

Pressing only "climate on" (no defrost) with target temp of 72, it took 8 minutes to get the cabin to target temp and 21 minutes to clear the conditioning icon.

Tomorrow I'll post the time starting from full defrost.

What's your experience? What am I missing?
 
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I used to try and precondition heavily to get regen working and all but frankly it is a waste of energy. Make the cabin warm for you, the end.

I see people talk about cabin temp and pack temp, they are completely separate neither influences the other.
The closest thing to influence one might have on the other is the current used to heat the cabin might help the pack warm slightly but is inconsequential compared to active pack heating.

For reference when I say you are wasting energy, I drive a Tesla because I enjoy it, I suffer no delusions about saving the planet and don't sweat the fact my local grid is 55% coal
 
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My wife just tried with her 2021 model 3, this time with defrost. The defrost turned off sometime in the first ten minutes.

Her conditioning icon went away after 20 minutes, possibly saving a minute because of defrost. Not sure because she has a bigger battery.

SSedan, we're playing with our new toys, experimenting. Not sure I'll do 20 minutes conditioning each morning just for regen. But 5 minutes to stay warm is always great. (And about the time it takes to get ready when I decide impulsively to drive somewhere)
 
I have a loaner 3 because my S is in for service. Really missing app access since we just got our first real snow here near Green Bay. Had to use dog mode to defrost it yesterday evening.

I can appreciate playing with a new toy. As the temps get colder it takes a lot more to warm the battery. This winter my 4th with the car I am actually going to charge less often since it has to warm to charge. I only drive 15-30miles a day. I think needlessly warming the pack wastes a bunch of power, it is something like 1200lbs.
You will quickly adapt to the ever wandering regen level.
 
I have a loaner 3 because my S is in for service. Really missing app access since we just got our first real snow here near Green Bay. Had to use dog mode to defrost it yesterday evening.

I can appreciate playing with a new toy. As the temps get colder it takes a lot more to warm the battery. This winter my 4th with the car I am actually going to charge less often since it has to warm to charge. I only drive 15-30miles a day. I think needlessly warming the pack wastes a bunch of power, it is something like 1200lbs.
You will quickly adapt to the ever wandering regen level.


Crap I never realized that you don’t get mobile access with the loaners. After the first big snow in the northeast I had to use mobile app to defrost the doors.
 
Ok, tried the test this morning with defrost on from the start.

Took 3 minutes (instead of 8) to reach 72 degrees and took 14 minutes (instead of 21) for the conditioning icon to disappear.

That's a 1/3 savings in time with defrost. Took 2.19 kWh, which at our 14 cents per kWh is ... (drumroll)

** 30 cents and 14 minutes for full regen on a cold morning.

Yesterday's non-defrost conditioning took 2.76kWh (39 cents) and 21 minutes, so defrost is definitely the way to go.
 
A primary purpose for preconditioning the battery for me is miles. I take a long trip most weekends and if I warm the cabin and battery, by the way the icon doesn't always come on, I get more range out of the vehicle. As I have an older model S I only have about 240 mi rated range now. That means less than 200 real range. If I warm the battery I notice a significantly better range. Probably 20 to 30 mi. As I said the battery icon doesn't usually come on. But it clearly makes a difference. I'm not sure what the programming is on that.
 
>> don't presume the pack falls to ambient quickly.

So what you're saying is that my tests weren't accurate because I preconditioned on successive mornings, that there was still some warmth left over from the earlier day. Didn't drive much either day or prior days, so there's that.
 
A primary purpose for preconditioning the battery for me is miles. I take a long trip most weekends and if I warm the cabin and battery, by the way the icon doesn't always come on, I get more range out of the vehicle. As I have an older model S I only have about 240 mi rated range now. That means less than 200 real range. If I warm the battery I notice a significantly better range. Probably 20 to 30 mi. As I said the battery icon doesn't usually come on. But it clearly makes a difference. I'm not sure what the programming is on that.

I do the same, if heading to my sister's i have a supercharger an hour away with a bit of a detour, and one 3 hours away right on route. I preheat aggresively before long stretches.

>> don't presume the pack falls to ambient quickly.

So what you're saying is that my tests weren't accurate because I preconditioned on successive mornings, that there was still some warmth left over from the earlier day. Didn't drive much either day or prior days, so there's that.

I don't have a scanner to read actual pack temp, but anecdotally I see a difference in how quickly regen returns if the car has been sitting 18hours vs. 36hours at similar temps.
The pack is a lot of mass and even your ambient temp sofar isn't all that cold.
If the pack did fall to 28f even warming from 20f instead is a much bigger leap when regen begins to return once the pack is back above freezing.

I have a good feel your your weather as I grew up near Phillipsburg, and I should say here near Green Bay I am looking at this from a colder perspective. Here we see a lot more time in single digits and below zero.
 
Hey guys, thanks for your posts and experiments.
Newbie here from Alberta. Is it necessary to totally defrost before driving. I have just been warming the cabin and not waiting for defrost to read normal?
Thanks

yup that is the normal and most energy efficient way to go. Somewhere between 5-10 minutes will get your cabin perfect. Warming with my garage door down is amazing and understated in Tesla reviews.
 
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