Effects of Winter on Energy Consumption

[dweeks]

Agree Robert, range mode seems to be the best option right now for reducing winter Whm. As stated in your other post, the climate control and battery warming should be separate options. I'll try to add another regression factor for range mode. That said, eco hvac doesn't cut it without pre-heating the cabin.

Pre-heating the battery via charging didn't live up to my hopes for reducing wH/m....

I emailed Tesla about Range mode and battery pre-heating. This is my email, and their reply:

Hi,

I'm a VERY happy new owner of an S85. I'm currently in Flagstaff, AZ, and in the winter, my garage averages around 45-50 F during cold weather outside.

For comfort, I want to pre-heat my Model S while plugged into my HPWC. I also want to pre-heat the battery, to avoid reduced regen braking, and to get better battery efficiency.

My question is this:

If range mode is ON, will pre-heating the car also pre-heat the battery? Or, does range mode have to be OFF to pre-heat the battery?

Best regards,

David


Tesla wrote back:

Hi Mr. Weeks,
Thank you for contacting Tesla Motors. Range mode does NOT need to be off to pre-heat the vehicles battery. It may warm up the vehicle faster but should not affect the battery heating up. As long as you have sent a command to the vehicle it will stay awake and start heating the battery. The command to heat or cool the cabin will stop (or time out) after 15 minutes. If you have any further questions please feel free to email or call us back any time.

Thank you,

Chad Okland | Technical Support Specialis

 

[jerry33]

That sounds good but:

1. Heat/cooling stays on for about 30 minutes in my car.

2. When I forget and leave it in range mode, the next morning, after heating for 30 minutes, the regen line is just over 15, when I have range mode off, it's not quite 30. So the tech is correct that it heats the battery--just not as much.

 

[gnychis]

For the first time in my year long ownership with my Tesla, I saw "Regenerative breaking disabled" after my car had been idling unplugged in the 18 degree weather overnight. Almost moved in to my new place where I'll have a plug....

 

[Robert.Boston]

For the first time in my year long ownership with my Tesla, I saw "Regenerative breaking disabled" after my car had been idling unplugged in the 18 degree weather overnight. Almost moved in to my new place where I'll have a plug....

You'll still have this issue plugged in; what you can (and should) do is fire up the climate control about 20-30 minutes before you depart. Not only does this heat the cabin, but it heats the battery. For this purpose, avoid using the "Eco" range mode on the climate control, which heats less aggressively.

It's amazing how much heavier the Model S seems when there's no, or limited, regen. Very different driving dynamics, which can be unsafe if you're not paying attention.

 

[PeterK]

You'll still have this issue plugged in; what you can (and should) do is fire up the climate control about 20-30 minutes before you depart. Not only does this heat the cabin, but it heats the battery. For this purpose, avoid using the "Eco" range mode on the climate control, which heats less aggressively.

It's amazing how much heavier the Model S seems when there's no, or limited, regen. Very different driving dynamics, which can be unsafe if you're not paying attention.

Also schedule your charge for the morning - mine is at 5:45am - which also helps warm the battery (or forces battery warming).