Energy Graph on Speedometer

[martin90]

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what exactly does the energy graph on the right of the speedometer tell you?

Normally, the orange bar goes up a bit when accelerating (rarely above 75, though) and it turns green when regen braking.

Is this simply the amount of kw above or below your average (if so, which average)?

In other words, my average might be around 300kw, but this graph always hovers around 0kw and when accelerating might go up to usually less than 75kw.

Tried to search for this, but couldn't find anything. Maybe it's too self explanatory and I'm just missing it.

Screenshot below was taken from an image online - this is not my car.

 

[trils0n]

The orange arc around the graph is instantaneous power draw (or regen) in kW.

The graph is energy use over a distance (the distance is determined by the Energy App on the 17inch screen) in Wh/Mile. Average energy over distance.

 

[chillaban]

Note that the graph units are not the same as the kW units that circle the dial for instantaneous power usage….

The graph is unitless, other than the average wh/mi readout at the bottom. But it is color coded: The dashed line shows the EPA combined rated Wh/mi, while the graph going green = regen that results in positive energy recapture.

It's mostly not useful to see, in my opinion. Energy consumption tracking for trips is much better done through the trip planner's energy usage predictor.

 

[martin90]

It's the units on the orange arc that are confusing me...

If I accelerate moderately aggressively, it goes up to maybe 100-200kw, but that can't be the instantaneous draw (draw must be much higher during acceleration)...

At cruising, it's usually just above 0. I would imagine cruising should be ~300 (instantaneous draw). That's why I thought maybe the arc showed the amount of kw over average at that instant...

Still confused!!

 

[martin90]

I think I figured it out.

I was confusing the instantaneous kw draw to the kw/hr # that we're used to (~300)...thinking they were measuring the same thing...

Now I'm wondering what use the instantaneous draw arc is....

 

[joer00]

" (rarely above 75, though) " , mine is rarely below 200

It is the same as if your ICE would have a current HP meter. I agree it has little use, especially with the new version where it is close to impossible to guess what the real number is which you can get anyway via the main screen as detailed digits.

 

[scole04]

It's a simplified version of the main energy screen on the center console. It would be more useful if they included the range projected based on the last 5/10/15 miles like the main touch screen.

 

[chillaban]

It's the units on the orange arc that are confusing me...

If I accelerate moderately aggressively, it goes up to maybe 100-200kw, but that can't be the instantaneous draw (draw must be much higher during acceleration)...

At cruising, it's usually just above 0. I would imagine cruising should be ~300 (instantaneous draw). That's why I thought maybe the arc showed the amount of kw over average at that instant...

Still confused!!

It's an instantaneous power meter. It gives you a rough idea of how much power consumption you're using right now, which is useful for gauging how efficiently you're driving (e.g. seeing how it changes when going 55mph vs 80mph might invite you to reconsider your speeding habits) or how much more power you have left on tap (e.g. you know that your car tops out at 300kW or whatever and you're currently using 200kW and contemplating how much passing thrust you have left).

But it could also just be entirely pointless. Some purists will claim that all the numbers and graphs in an instrument cluste

It's a simplified version of the main energy screen on the center console. It would be more useful if they included the range projected based on the last 5/10/15 miles like the main touch screen.

I'd love to be able to replace it with the trip projection graph too -- I find that one much more valuable compared to the recent history. We all have a pretty good idea in the back of our mind how we drove over the course of the last 5/10/15 miles even if we'd rather not remember

 

[Boatguy]

It's the units on the orange arc that are confusing me...

If I accelerate moderately aggressively, it goes up to maybe 100-200kw, but that can't be the instantaneous draw (draw must be much higher during acceleration)...

At cruising, it's usually just above 0. I would imagine cruising should be ~300 (instantaneous draw). That's why I thought maybe the arc showed the amount of kw over average at that instant...

As others have said, it's instantaneous, and the units are kW, not W. 100kW is a lot of power, like 250a @ 400v.

That said, it's not very useful and current consumption is like those current MPG meters on ICE cars, really not very useful. Most of the time energy information is not interesting at all. When on a longer trip and I need to make it to the next charging station (SC or Destination), then it's useful information!

We're still early EV owners and particularly in these forums we obsess over power, consumption and range a bit to much. We'll quit doing it when SC's are as easy to find as a gas station.

 

[WannabeOwner]

I use it when Hypermiling / Coasting to balance the accelerator pedal for 0 kW usage - neither orange nor green arcs showing.

 

[bob_p]

The instantaneous orange/green line isn't very useful. It primarily gives you a feeling that the car is doing something - when accelerating or going uphill - the orange lines gets bigger - and when you decelerate or go downhill, the orange line gets shorter or goes green. Other than that, not particularly useful.

The energy graph is more useful - but most of what is being displayed really doesn't have much value either. When driving at a steady speed on a highway - the graph somewhat reflects the hills and valleys on the highway - and the specific data points don't have much real value either.

The most useful number is the average W/mi reading. This gives you an indication of how you are doing relative to the rate miles listed for the battery range. If you drive around 300 W/mi, the rated range will be pretty accurate. If your rated range is below your needed range, and you aren't planning to stop for charging, then slowing down to bring the energy usage below 300 should help to extend your range. And driving at faster speeds using more than 300 will more quickly consume your battery.

When you have a navigation route set, you can also use 1/2 of the touchscreen display to show a projection of your likely energy usage vs. your actual energy usage - but that's also not providing you enough information to waste 1/2 of the touchscreen display. Instead, you can get roughly the same information by watching the energy graph on the dashboard, coupled with clicking on the bottom of the turn list in the navigation display and showing the projected % energy level at your destination.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Since it hasn't been mentioned: the orange/green kW arc also will show a dashed line if power is limited. That happens a lot on regen (green arc) when the battery is cold or near full. If driving down steep hills this is important information when one is trying to drive efficiently without using the brake pedal. It is also interesting to shift to neutral with heating or AC on to see how much power is being consumed at any given time.

It is also useful for explaining the concept of single pedal driving to newcomers who have never been in a Tesla before; they can see for themselves how regen power works versus acceleration power.

I find the power arc much more useful than the blue speed arc, which I never use; the digital speed display is much more useful than an analog speedometer for me.

The extra energy graph on the IC that the OP mentioned seems pretty useless when one can display the big one on the main screen. I agree with others that an energy trip plot displayed there would be more interesting although the scale would be pretty small. This is an example of the energy graph for 30 miles of routine driving around my home:

As you can see, it isn't flat around here! (But other than the amusement factor, the graph isn't very useful.)

 

[thecloud]

I find the instantaneous power meter (orange/green arc) to be extremely useful, and would very much miss it were Tesla to take it away. It's somewhat less useful in its current form than it was in the pre-7.0 days, when the arcs had more definition and were easier to read. This display is giving you constant feedback about how much power you're drawing so you can adjust your acceleration to reduce it. The power meter also shows you when regenerative braking is (or isn't) occurring. The analog nature of this display shows both how much power and how quickly that value is changing, something numeric digits don't give you without some extra mental effort to interpret their meaning.

A person who knows something about UI design posted a thoughtful critique last year of what's wrong with the redesigned power meter and other interface elements, and I feel that he's not wrong. In 7.1, we now have the option of 3 clocks being displayed at once, but things like being able to see if the climate control has recirc or fresh air selected are still missing. Hopefully the interface improvements that were supposed to be coming in 7.1 are still on their way soon.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

I agree with @thecloud, the instantaneous power meter is incredibly useful. I use it all the time for:

- Knowing how much acceleration/torque I'm supplying
- Holding power at 0 for coasting
- Allowing some regen without causing the brake lights to come on
- Indication when TACC is accelerating, maintaining speed, and slowing

 

[trils0n]

The instant power meter is great. One of the most critical features for managing energy usage. I'd be very sad if they nerfed the pre-autopilot energy meter to be like the autopilot cars.

 

[krazineurons]

As others have said, it's instantaneous, and the units are kW, not W. 100kW is a lot of power, like 250a @ 400v.

I have a perhaps stupid question but the kWh and kW is messing up with my head big time. for a 90D (approx 90 kWh) battery what does it mean when someone just consumed 100kW in the last instant? in other words a since a 90kWh battery can power 90kW for an hour, if i kept on running on 100kW for 54 minutes i would exhaust the entire battery. Is that right?

 

[Boatguy]

I have a perhaps stupid question but the kWh and kW is messing up with my head big time. for a 90D (approx 90 kWh) battery what does it mean when someone just consumed 100kW in the last instant? in other words a since a 90kWh battery can power 90kW for an hour, if i kept on running on 100kW for 54 minutes i would exhaust the entire battery. Is that right?

Yes.

 

[Boatguy]

- Allowing some regen without causing the brake lights to come on

What is the threshold for the brake lights?

 

[SomeJoe7777]

What is the threshold for the brake lights?

It varies with your speed. At slower speeds, around -15 kW is about where they come one. At higher speeds, it's around -30 to -35 kW.

I'd love it if there was a small tick mark on the regen meter that moved with speed to show the brake light threshold.

 

[JasonA-EV]

I'd love it if there was a small tick mark on the regen meter that moved with speed to show the brake light threshold.

I second this also! At night sometimes I've been testing and watching the parked cars behind me light up to see where the point is on regen and the brake lights!

Also, this power/hp display, is this the same one that I've seen shown on the Tesla racing YouTube vids where his is showing HP, torque , etc?

Do all cars have the ability to show that?