energy usage in colder temp...

[tokuro]

For those who have had MS since last winter, I got a question. I have mine since mid summer and I've been averaging around 300-320wh/mile during regular commute. ever since temperature stared to go around 50ish, energy usage had increased to around 320-350 for the same drive. Oh, don't forget rain, too.

Is this rather typical scenario to have more energy usage, 10-15% more??

 

[captain_zap]

Yep. Battery heating and people heating is the reason. Also, wet roads create higher rolling resistance which cuts range a couple percent. The latter also happens in your ICE, but is more noticeable in the Tesla due to the detailed energy usage feedback.

Preheating the cabin and battery before a cold weather trip can save a few miles of range.

 

[ChadS]

According to Tesla's numbers, 50 degrees should raise consumption about 7%. That is assuming a long trip though; as captain_zap notes, use is higher at first (unless you preheat) so short trips will see a larger hit. Rain can add roughly 2-10% depending on how heavy it is. Many more details HERE.

 

[Vger]

Very typical of our experience also. On your commute, it will be no big deal, but if you venture across the mountains into REALLY cold temps, your range will shrink much more than you would expect. In summer, we can make the run from Ellensburg to Lewiston/Clarkston easily, even without a 100% range charge. One night last winter, with snow, wind, and temps well below freezing, we barely made it and had to slow way down.

 

[MacLeodMX]

It all depends how cold your climate is, of course. In my area, winter gets pretty cold and I often experienced 20% loss of range.

 

[Doug_G]

Yep. Battery heating and people heating is reason. Also, wet roads create higher rolling resistance which cuts range a couple percent. The latter also happens in your ICE, but is more noticeable in the Tesla due to the detailed energy usage feedback.

Preheating the cabin and battery before a cold weather trip can save a few miles of range.

Actually most of the losses are due to increased aerodynamic drag (cold air is denser) and also poorer rolling resistance due to stiffer tires. This exactly is the same as for an ICE car; people just tend not to notice that their fuel economy goes to pot.

Except during the initial warm-up period, the battery pack self-heats sufficiently to keep itself warm without continued use of the pack heater, unless you are in extremely cold conditions (e.g. below -25C). Preheating the cabin definitely will help reduce the initial extra heating load, but it's not the only factor.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

We received our MS late February, so temperatures had already started to moderate a bit. Today, <30°F, took a 50 mile round trip for lunch and used 70 rated miles - forgot to note Watts per mile. Had pre-heated, climate control at 67°, and never above 65 mph. Well, there was one instance where a Bimmer came roaring up besides me at the head of the line at a red light at the base of a hill. The standard 85 did just fine, thank you.:smile:

 

[SCW-Greg]

During the mild summer my rated and actual miles matched on my 60 mile round trip daily commute. Half stop and go driving, and at half highway speeds.

30 miles each way, 60 miles round trip.

Now with 25 - 28 degree days for a high, lows around 20...
With a prewarmed pack in the morning, rated and actual seem to match on the way in. But coming back, spending 20 minutes warming the pack before I get in and return home, it will consume almost double (60 miles). The pack will take another 20 minutes of driving before the regen limit is gone, and I assume the pack is then fully warmed.

90 miles consumed for a 60 mile actual drive.

It's really is about the pack sitting and getting cold for 8 hours, and then trying to warm it back up. If the pack starts off warm, it does very well.

 

[JackA]

It has been in the "teens" here in north central Washington and our kWh/mile have gone up from 307 to about 450. Also regeneration has been limited and one time a Driver Information Screen came up informing me that power would improve as the batteries got warmer. It seems that we are down about 40 miles of rated range from when we are in warmer temperatures. Our car is parked in a garage that is kept at about 50 degrees.

 

[Pricee2]

Last three nights it has been 14, 11 & 11 degrees, daytime highs around 27, but my garage always stays above 50. The regen limit is on when I leave the garage and has not gone off for days, most trips are less than 20 miles. Have had the chime with "battery is heating" message multiple times.

 

[PhilBa]

With the cold snap in western washington, I am seeing wh/mi of high 400s, low 500s. Even an 18 mile drive, mostly on freeways, came in at 494 wh/mi. This trip had no regen for the first 4 miles, regen limited for the next 12 miles and the battery heating warning for about 6 miles. The car said the temp was 18F but overnight low was in the low teens. It was parked in Mukilteo outside overnight.

[edit: by the way, no shore power was available so preheat came off the battery. ]

By the way, I've gotten the battery heating warning everyday for the last week. So much for the west side of the state having a moderate climate.

 

[Puyallup Bill]

I think the recent cold snap is about as low as we will see in these parts. I'm good - using pre-heat and a ratio of rated to actual miles of 1.4:1.0, I'm well within range of Superchargers north, south, and (soon) east. That is conservative and allows comfortable heat and reasonable speed.:smile:

Now, with the LEAF, it is a whole different ballgame.:frown:

 

[iridium]

I've seen the same thing. As temps have dropped here in the Seattle area my energy usage go from about 300-320 wh/mile to 400. I have a 60 and their energy usage tends to be a bit lower.