Frequent use of superchargers bad?

[DutchDan]

My home is near a supercharger (Tesla). Is it bad for the battery to only use this? I only drive about 300 km per week, so this is the only charger I use once a week? (I own a Tesla since 3 weeks). Thanks.
Dan

 

[Joelgjr]

Hey Dann I see that you asked this question on another thread already. This is actually pretty heavily covered on this forum so you’ll get some great info by searching around. I’ve been searching around for literally weeks now reading tons of information as I wait for my June delivery of my MS.

Super chargers are designed for long distance travel only. Their existence is so that we all, as owners of Tesla’s, can take road trips with our electric cars. You should charge at home.

There are stories on here of people’s battery charge rate being reduced after using my exclusively super chargers over the life of their vehicle - definitly not designed for this purpose.

 

[Olds442]

With so many superchargers showing up in city areas I have to think that they understand people will be using them like gas stations. More and more people are having to pay for using them, and that number of people will only increase over time. I use the one near me occasionally, but mostly a free Volta that's right around the corner. I rarely need more than a 110 connection at home, but have a 30 amp in the mudroom that I plug into if need be.

 

[Snowstorm]

There are a lot of discussion around this topic. Tesla have never openly said whether it is bad or not, but do encourage people to charge at home most of the time. My personal opinion is that the occasional Supercharge is OK (say once a week), and definitely use them if you have to in order to complete your long distance trip. However, for the longevity of the battery and maximum supercharging speed, I would not want to use them everyday. Supercharger is like a Big Mac, convenient and taste good, but not healthy if that is all your eat everyday.

To maximize battery life:

1. Avoid sitting for a long time at charge levels >90%. If 90-100% charge is needed, drive soon afterwards
2. Don't fully drain the battery, don't go below 10%, don't go below 20% is even better.
3. Minimize depth of discharge, re-charge often. 200x 70%->40% discharges are less stressful than 100x 80%->20% discharges even though the same amount of energy is drawn
4. Use L2 charging most of the time, DC fast charge when you must
5. Keep it plugged in when not in use, charging or not, so BMS can do the best job at keeping battery cool or warm

You'll find lots of info if you search around here