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Do you guys always precondition before charging?
- Thread starter classychris92
- Start date
RayK
Active Member
I think that you're talking about two kinds of pre-conditioning....
The only way that you can pre-condition (i.e. heat) the battery for Level 2 (L2 - 240VAC) home charging is if you tell the navigation system in the car that you're headed to a Supercharger. And you really won't gain all that much in charging efficiency but you will waste energy. Pre-conditioning, in this sense, is only for Supercharging as it forces a lot more current into your battery than L2 does.
As far as pre-conditioning before driving I think that you're talking about heating (or cooling) the car's interior in order to make a more pleasant atmosphere for the driver and passengers. That can be done while the car is charging so that you are essentially using your home's electrical supply to heat (or cool) the car and not the car's own battery (which would reduce the range). It's up to you if you do that or not.
The only way that you can pre-condition (i.e. heat) the battery for Level 2 (L2 - 240VAC) home charging is if you tell the navigation system in the car that you're headed to a Supercharger. And you really won't gain all that much in charging efficiency but you will waste energy. Pre-conditioning, in this sense, is only for Supercharging as it forces a lot more current into your battery than L2 does.
As far as pre-conditioning before driving I think that you're talking about heating (or cooling) the car's interior in order to make a more pleasant atmosphere for the driver and passengers. That can be done while the car is charging so that you are essentially using your home's electrical supply to heat (or cool) the car and not the car's own battery (which would reduce the range). It's up to you if you do that or not.
fholbert
Active Member
No.
Charging starts during off peak, 2:00am in my case. I’ve been plugged in for several hours.
E90alex
Active Member
You cannot control battery preconditioning other than starting navigation to a supercharger.
Even if you could, there is zero need to do so for Level 2 AC charging.
Climate preconditioning can be done whenever you want the cabin to be more comfortable. Makes no difference to the battery. I do it every time before I get into my car if I remember to. Definitely before and after work.
Even if you could, there is zero need to do so for Level 2 AC charging.
Climate preconditioning can be done whenever you want the cabin to be more comfortable. Makes no difference to the battery. I do it every time before I get into my car if I remember to. Definitely before and after work.
No
No
Pretty. much yes (although the term "pre conditioning" also refers to conditioning the car CABIN (not the battery) for occupant comfort, and people do that all the time.
You can start the remote climate control to pre condition (get the cabin to a comfortable temperature) anytime you want to, but in general it only takes 10 minutes or less for the CABIN to reach a comfortable temperature. Trying to pre condition the BATTERY for charging is ONLY necessary as it pertains to getting the best charging speeds out of a supercharger, not a home charger. It only happens when a supercharger is set as the destination.
So, think of pre conditioning the cabin is "whenever I want" and think of pre conditioning the battery as "whenever I navigate to a supercharger, the car will do this automagically without me doing anything other than setting a supercharger as the destination.
Transformer
Do the math. Save the world. — Mark Leon
Actually, per the Owner's Manual, preconditioning before departure will warm the battery and the cabin interior and side mirrors. This enables full regenerative braking when you start out.
Separately, navigating to a supercharger will precondition the battery so that it'll charge faster. You can avoid that by navigating to an adjacent location instead. In theory that'd save energy, which might matter a lot if you barely have enough charge to get to there, but when I tried an experiment, any difference was within the 1% resolution of the battery gauge.
Owner's Manual
Mobile App section: "Using the mobile app to precondition Model 3 also warms the Battery as needed."
Cold Weather Best Practices: "Side mirrors automatically heat as needed during preconditioning, or when the rear defroster is turned on." "Regenerative braking can be limited if the Battery is too cold. ... Limited regenerative braking can be avoided if you allow enough time to precondition your vehicle or if you use Schedule to precondition Model 3 before your departure time" "A blue snowflake icon appears on your touchscreen when some of the stored energy in the Battery is unavailable because the Battery is cold."
Maps and Navigation: "When navigating to a Supercharger (or third- party fast charger in some regions), Model 3 preconditions the Battery to prepare for charging. This ensures you arrive with an optimal Battery temperature, reducing the amount of time it takes to charge."
Charging Instructions: "You can also thaw ice on the charge port latch by enabling preconditioning using the mobile app. To prevent this from occurring, use the Schedule settings, available on both the charging and climate control screens, to set a departure time and enable preconditioning"
Scheduled Charging and Scheduled Departure: "Preconditioning warms the Battery for improved performance and ensures a comfortable cabin climate at your set departure time."
Separately, navigating to a supercharger will precondition the battery so that it'll charge faster. You can avoid that by navigating to an adjacent location instead. In theory that'd save energy, which might matter a lot if you barely have enough charge to get to there, but when I tried an experiment, any difference was within the 1% resolution of the battery gauge.
Owner's Manual
Mobile App section: "Using the mobile app to precondition Model 3 also warms the Battery as needed."
Cold Weather Best Practices: "Side mirrors automatically heat as needed during preconditioning, or when the rear defroster is turned on." "Regenerative braking can be limited if the Battery is too cold. ... Limited regenerative braking can be avoided if you allow enough time to precondition your vehicle or if you use Schedule to precondition Model 3 before your departure time" "A blue snowflake icon appears on your touchscreen when some of the stored energy in the Battery is unavailable because the Battery is cold."
Maps and Navigation: "When navigating to a Supercharger (or third- party fast charger in some regions), Model 3 preconditions the Battery to prepare for charging. This ensures you arrive with an optimal Battery temperature, reducing the amount of time it takes to charge."
Charging Instructions: "You can also thaw ice on the charge port latch by enabling preconditioning using the mobile app. To prevent this from occurring, use the Schedule settings, available on both the charging and climate control screens, to set a departure time and enable preconditioning"
Scheduled Charging and Scheduled Departure: "Preconditioning warms the Battery for improved performance and ensures a comfortable cabin climate at your set departure time."
E90alex
Active Member
Yes kind of, but not really. It only warms the battery a little bit. If it’s really cold, departure preconditioning will still not be sufficient to fully warm the battery for full regen.
It’s not enough of a difference to concern yourself with. Set the preconditioning for cabin comfort and don’t worry about the battery.
Also with the latest software revs, you can toggle on a feature that has the car blend in friction brakes if the battery is too cold to accept regen. This gets rid of that dreaded regen unavailable message and you can drive normally without worrying about inconsistent single pedal driving.
teslexus
Member
i think that model s losing about 15 percent on cold start but after few miles wil give back 8 or 9 percent back when is colder weather .beside that i will be very carefull with preheating winshield and side mirrors on minus 5 or minus 15 celsius because of potential crack in glass if fan is at max speed.
i generally do not preheat or use scheduled time of departure and i didnt notice significant range drop only if i am going to supercharger tesla by itself preheating battery to desired level for faster charging when gps was used ,if not used than no preconditioning done only few times i have noticed during supercharging sessions will kick in preheating battery message for about 5 min and continue charging at normal rate.
I do agree with some of previous comments regarding cabin comfort but bunddle up if car is outside its winter time and i think that big battery coolant G48 needs to be heated up and coolant pumps 1,2 and 3 must be fully operational to move coolant around and give you best range possible.
i generally do not preheat or use scheduled time of departure and i didnt notice significant range drop only if i am going to supercharger tesla by itself preheating battery to desired level for faster charging when gps was used ,if not used than no preconditioning done only few times i have noticed during supercharging sessions will kick in preheating battery message for about 5 min and continue charging at normal rate.
I do agree with some of previous comments regarding cabin comfort but bunddle up if car is outside its winter time and i think that big battery coolant G48 needs to be heated up and coolant pumps 1,2 and 3 must be fully operational to move coolant around and give you best range possible.
Yeah I was asking about both, I was just curious if preconditioning before you drive is better for the battery regardless if it's to hot or to cold or if those are the only conditions that it helps.
How does preconditioning ensure your battery is full when you want to leave? I'm 4 years into Tesla ownership, I've never preconditioned, and my car always leaves with exactly the level of charge that I desire.
The only time I've heard that it makes sense to lie to the car about going to a supercharger is if someone at home only has 120 power in the dead of winter. Those conditions can take a long time to get sufficient power flowing to the car.
Without ore conditioning The car doesn’t know when I want to leave. But in order for the car battery to be optimized it lowers the charge and then recharges it. So for example you could unplug your car when it’s not quite at the full charge because it started the decent. Preconditioning ensures that doesn’t happen.
But it is a simplification in the manual.
It only warms the battery if it is needed, which is if the battery temp is only a few degrees celcius above freezing amd wjennit warms it, its only to about 5C or so.
I logged my M3P for 2.5 years with scan my tesla and teslalogger. I live in a cold climate with snow 6 months each year.
Now logging my MSP in the same way.
The MSP behaves the same.
Max Spaghetti
Member
Is that based on your logging or do you have another source?
I'm asking because I have an LFP battery, and in my climate (overnight temps typically 1-3C), there is a massive observed difference in regen with preconditioning. Maybe 5C makes all the difference, or maybe LFP is heated differently?
Having said that, even after preconditioning, there are still dots on the regen display, and sometimes a "regen limited" icon on the side.
Yes, logging and also have a tablet with scan my tesla in the car all the time.
On my M3P I had it mounted in front of the steering wheel. I did see the cell temp live continuously. (On the MSP it is in the center panel).
There is a big difference in regen as lithium batteries must not be charged below 0C and tesla do not allow regen if the cell temp it about 3C or below on the LR/P packs.
The battery warming put it on the right side of the limit.
I haven’t checked any LFP car with SMT car for regen at cold temps but I know they are more “sensitive” for cold and low temperatures so no- or low regen are more common with LFP cars.
I do not know to what temperature tesla heats the battery when preconditioning a LFP but I know for model 3 LR/P and model S 2023.
Yes, you’ll se that during the winter.
Regen limit is affected by SOC as well, not only cell temperature, low SOC is less restrictive.