Help. Winter energy consumption and range.

[ZooSean]

I just upgraded to V9 of software. I started look at energy consumption screen. For the past 50kms , my energy consumption was 288 wh/km, that means I have got only 50% of range for my Model 3. Is it normal?

Here is only 0 C yet, and Toronto temperatures could go minus 10 C.

 

[bijan]

Seems a bit high. Was it mostly short drives?

I have four drives today so far, three short one medium:
drive 1: 4.78 km, 298 Wh/km
drive 2: 4.73 km, 262 Wh/km
drive 3: 1.8 km, 317 Wh/km
drive 4: 24.7km, 204 Wh/km

average 230Wh/km temperature was about 2.5-3 degrees

But overall my average for 0-5 degree temperature (on drives over 1km) is:
205.67 Wh/km, which is averaged over 3024 km

 

[ZooSean]

Seems a bit high. Was it mostly short drives?

I have four drives today so far, three short one medium:
drive 1: 4.78 km, 298 Wh/km
drive 2: 4.73 km, 262 Wh/km
drive 3: 1.8 km, 317 Wh/km
drive 4: 24.7km, 204 Wh/km

average 230Wh/km temperature was about 2.5-3 degrees

But overall my average for 0-5 degree temperature (on drives over 1km) is:
205.67 Wh/km, which is averaged over 3024 km

I have only 1,2,3 in your case. So same

 

[rypalmer]

Don't extrapolate short drives to long drives. It's not the same. Don't sweat it and just enjoy the ride.

 

[swotam]

I just upgraded to V9 of software. I started look at energy consumption screen. For the past 50kms , my energy consumption was 288 wh/km, that means I have got only 50% of range for my Model 3. Is it normal?

Colder temperatures affect consumption, and this is frequently made more obvious by running the heater, seat heaters, or both while driving. In my limited time with my Model 3 I've observed that shorter drives seem to result in higher wH/Km stats than longer ones. This is much like ICE vehicles in the sense that your gas mileage is generally better if you are not driving short distances daily, so it makes sense.

Your consumption doesn't seem unusually high considering the climate, and it's not far off from my consumption for the short drives to and from the commuter train station daily.

(Yes, despite owning a fun to drive electric car I still take the train to work, because Toronto rush-hour traffic will suck the life out of you and have you questioning your sanity in minutes.)

 

[dusdev]

I just upgraded to V9 of software. I started look at energy consumption screen. For the past 50kms , my energy consumption was 288 wh/km, that means I have got only 50% of range for my Model 3. Is it normal?

Here is only 0 C yet, and Toronto temperatures could go minus 10 C.

Sounds about right. I was worried too but I recently embarked on a road trip and the consumption dropped to ~190 for mostly highway. Stop/Accelerate and traffic will definitely result in higher consumption numbers, esp. in winter.

 

[SSedan]

Are you charging before you leave, warming up on shore power?

The battery and cabin heating that drive high consumption on daily driving level off on long drives, this is not well presented to perspective buyers.

 

[stevedavies76]

Similar experiences as well. What has improved short drives significantly is having the battery charging immediately prior to departing. Cold battery will reduce regen which makes the shorter travel sting even more.
Lots of posts around on this given the season. Ideally pre-heat the cabin and the battery, otherwise all you can really do is dial back the cabin heater and turn up the seat heater.
Like everyone else has stated, don't extrapolate this experience to a longer trip - for that, expect 20-30% drop in range.

 

[yyzbig6]

For the winter, I've changed my charging habit to charge everyday timing it to finish charging in the morning. That took me down to ~230Wh/km for my 12km morning drive. Driving home after work on a cold battery I'm back at ~280Wh/km.

 

[ZooSean]

For the winter, I've changed my charging habit to charge everyday timing it to finish charging in the morning. That took me down to ~230Wh/km for my 12km morning drive. Driving home after work on a cold battery I'm back at ~280Wh/km.

I tried charge 15mins before leave at home today. The battery cold warning is gone. But it still costs me 320wh/km for my morning 5km drive to send kids to the school.

 

[swotam]

I tried charge 15mins before leave at home today. The battery cold warning is gone. But it still costs me 320wh/km for my morning 5km drive to send kids to the school.

Is that your average over the past 50 Km? Do you have the heater running? If so, what temperature do you have it set to? Do you have the seat heaters running? Are you driving aggressively for those 5 Km? Etc.

To be honest, if you are only driving a small amount each day I wouldn't really worry about it. Stressing out about whether you're using 250 wh/Km or 320 wh/Km for a brief amount of daily driving probably isn't worth it. Just enjoy the car and the fact that it's a LOT cheaper than gas.

 

[ZooSean]

Is that your average over the past 50 Km? Do you have the heater running? If so, what temperature do you have it set to? Do you have the seat heaters running? Are you driving aggressively for those 5 Km? Etc.

To be honest, if you are only driving a small amount each day I wouldn't really worry about it. Stressing out about whether you're using 250 wh/Km or 320 wh/Km for a brief amount of daily driving probably isn't worth it. Just enjoy the car and the fact that it's a LOT cheaper than gas.

What I mean is that it makes not too much difference on battery temperature for a short drive like I have.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

What I mean is that it makes not too much difference on battery temperature for a short drive like I have.

He mean's the 350kW/km doesn't matter a whole lot because it doesn't put you in the danger zone of not getting home with the car.

If you're serious about reducing the amount of energy used. Turn down the cabin temperature to 15°C and bundle up (but why when you have a car that can comfortably get you from home to work while being emission free)?

Even with the winter almost doubling consumption (50km commute now takes up to 80km of battery). Cost per day is still half of what gas would of cost . Enjoy the car and be safe about the awesome acceleration. Many other drivers are not aware of how fast these cars can be off the line.

 

[pmich80]

I don't have a charger at home, so mine is constantly running at 300 Wh/km or higher. My commutes are pretty short so the battery never gets warm enough. I do live in a condo so it stays relatively warm overnight. The only thing that sucks is that my "lifetime range average" will be disastrous now.. haha

 

[SSedan]

15minutes of charging won't heat the battery much, it is a big heavy unit that takes time and energy to heat. Also warming the battery from the wall is not saving so much energy overall it is just stopping it from showing up on the dash.
Yes I understand you get more regen, but you are also warming the battery more rather than letting it warm by use.

 

[simsim]

Hello, my car was outside today. i parked it at 272km (169 miles) of range left this morning, and 6:30 hours later, it is at 250km (155mi) of range left... I didn't use the app to wake the car.

It is approx -10 C (14 F) outside.

The loss was 22 km (14 miles) in 6:30 hours... It looks to me that it is an enormous loss....

what do you think?

thank you

 

[bijan]

Hello, my car was outside today. i parked it at 272km (169 miles) of range left this morning, and 6:30 hours later, it is at 250km (155mi) of range left... I didn't use the app to wake the car.

It is approx -10 C (14 F) outside.

The loss was 22 km (14 miles) in 6:30 hours... It looks to me that it is an enormous loss....

what do you think?

thank you

Did you notice the snow flake icon? If so it means the battery is cold and part of the energy is not available until the car warms up. You can see the snow flake on the touchscreen and in the app. The app also shows how much of the energy is unavailable.

Edit: That's the icon in the app, I think the icon in the car is blue and near the battery range/percentage number.

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

Hello, my car was outside today. i parked it at 272km (169 miles) of range left this morning, and 6:30 hours later, it is at 250km (155mi) of range left... I didn't use the app to wake the car.

It is approx -10 C (14 F) outside.

The loss was 22 km (14 miles) in 6:30 hours... It looks to me that it is an enormous loss....

what do you think?

thank you

Could be the winter update keeping the cabin temp above freezing to keep any sticky door handles and charge port issues. It's not the end of the world. Plan accordingly and enjoy the car , you use to lose more money idling at a stop light than the vampire drain.

 

[simsim]

thanks.

yes i have the snowflake icon.

and i know it is not the end of the world, but if i go somewhere for few days and i have 50 km of loss per day, i have to plan that...!

 

[5_+JqckQttqck]

50km (almost 8 kW) is a little too much, take it in for diagnostics. After a 10 hour work day parked, I lose maybe 10km? I'll have to pay attention.