Greetings all--I'm a newbie to the forum. I've got a few questions about charging at home to get the most bang for my buck and do what's best for the car--which is a 2021 Model Y LR. Here goes:
1. I do two types of driving: local, around town commuting and longer distance trips. Most (90%) of my driving is local. For trips, I set a scheduled departure time and charge fully overnight. That's the easy part.
2. For my normal driving, which usually consists of a few miles each day, I wait until the battery has about 60-75 miles left then I charge it overnight to 80% of capacity. Again, I use a scheduled departure time--which I usually leave at 0800 h--and charge overnight to take advantage of off-peak hour electrical rates. On an 80% charge, I can go up to two weeks before charging again, depending on season. Right now, in winter, my interval between charges is shorter. So my modus operandi is charge to 80%, take it down to 15% or so, then recharge. This is how I handle my normal commuting.
3. The question I have concerns whether I should plug the car in more often--perhaps even every night if need be. Of course, there is battery drain as the car just sits there--it's worse in winter. If I were to plug the car in after my daily driving is completed, would that mitigate the battery drain? I don't want the car to charge to 80% every time I plug it in, so if I turn off "scheduled departure" until I'm ready for a full charge, will plugging in the car just "keep things running" and prevent the battery drain? Is this technique healthier for the battery? One issue I have is plugging the car in during on-peak electrical hours--here from 5-9 PM everyday--which is much more expensive than off peak. When I do a full charge, the car doesn't start charging until off-peak hours, which is nice.
I guess that's it. I guess it boils down to a question of keeping my normal charging pattern or switching to plugging in all the time. Seems like plugging in every day is an unnecessary cost--but perhaps I'm missing something? Any advice from more experienced folks would be much appreciated. Cheers!
1. I do two types of driving: local, around town commuting and longer distance trips. Most (90%) of my driving is local. For trips, I set a scheduled departure time and charge fully overnight. That's the easy part.
2. For my normal driving, which usually consists of a few miles each day, I wait until the battery has about 60-75 miles left then I charge it overnight to 80% of capacity. Again, I use a scheduled departure time--which I usually leave at 0800 h--and charge overnight to take advantage of off-peak hour electrical rates. On an 80% charge, I can go up to two weeks before charging again, depending on season. Right now, in winter, my interval between charges is shorter. So my modus operandi is charge to 80%, take it down to 15% or so, then recharge. This is how I handle my normal commuting.
3. The question I have concerns whether I should plug the car in more often--perhaps even every night if need be. Of course, there is battery drain as the car just sits there--it's worse in winter. If I were to plug the car in after my daily driving is completed, would that mitigate the battery drain? I don't want the car to charge to 80% every time I plug it in, so if I turn off "scheduled departure" until I'm ready for a full charge, will plugging in the car just "keep things running" and prevent the battery drain? Is this technique healthier for the battery? One issue I have is plugging the car in during on-peak electrical hours--here from 5-9 PM everyday--which is much more expensive than off peak. When I do a full charge, the car doesn't start charging until off-peak hours, which is nice.
I guess that's it. I guess it boils down to a question of keeping my normal charging pattern or switching to plugging in all the time. Seems like plugging in every day is an unnecessary cost--but perhaps I'm missing something? Any advice from more experienced folks would be much appreciated. Cheers!
