Hot Weather Range

[markb1]

Who has real-world experience driving the Model S in very hot weather? How much does it affect range? How much power does the A/C use?

I'm planning to drive from San Diego to Las Vegas in the middle of July. The average high for Baker, CA on July 16 is 104, with a record high of 116. The calculator at teslamotors.com only lets me set the outside temp to 90.

 

[steve841]

Most of us haven't had a summer experience yet.... Since the first production rush happened in Sept/Oct of last year.

However, a/c takes a bite when the compressor spools up.... Here in FL in the winter 65-75...I was avg 275 to 295 wh/mi with no a/c use vs. now 300 to 320 with constant a/c use.

 

[jerry33]

It doesn't appear to be all that much. It's even less if you pre-cool the car while charging. Another trick is to start at a high temperature and then slowly lower it. That keeps the compressor from running at full speed.

 

[jomo25]

I'm not keeping detailed logs, but I will say that thus far, I'm very impressed by the seemingly small impact of hot weather/AC/battery TMS in 105+ degree weather. My Volt seems much more impacted. But then again, it's range is so much smaller that even small impacts are percentage wise big. But even so, I'm finding the MS handles it better. The AC seems to be MUCH more efficient than the Volt. And the cabin seems to be keep the heat out much better, so the AC doesnt have to run on full blast all the time.

 

[rbt3]

I have to agree with minimal impact on range so far in 105-110 degree heat here in Vegas the past week. The AC works very well in this level of heat also, and the iPhone app is great for pre-cooling the car before I get in. My car is white with grey interior which probably helps a little with heat build-up, and I was worried about heat with the pano roof, but I have not noticed a problem with excessive heat from the roof so far. I have 33% ceramic tint on side windows and roof with 18% on rear glass and it has helped keep the car very comfortable in the extreme heat we are having now.

 

[ZBB]

I'm in Phoenix and received my car this week. I saw 114 on the dash on my way home on Fri.

I don't have a cooler temp comparison (and won't until late Sept). Here's what I've seen so far in my 3 commutes so far. Round trip is just about 60 miles -- but has a ~1400 foot elevation change. About half of the commute is freeway and I mostly drive 70-75.

Range dropped by an additional 10-12 miles on Wed and Fri. Thurs we went out to dinner, so I drove 80 miles total, and lost about 100 miles of range (and the extra 20 miles were about 100 foot elevation change).

My take so far is that vampire loss is the biggest -- ~6 miles are lost while parked at work. The rest is split between elevation change, speed and the high temps... Not too shabby..:

 

[kishdude]

The AC uses much less energy than heating. I'm also in Phoenix and I drove the car from Phoenix to Flagstaff on Friday. The temp when I left Phoenix was 112 and I had the cruise set at 83. By the time I got to Flagstaff, the temp was 82. This trip took 53 kWh. The identical trip I did in the winter - (it was 15 degrees in Flagstaff when I arrived) took 61 kWh. So heating takes much more energy than the AC.

Also, I'm very impressed with how well the AC works. Temps are over 110 now in Phoenix, and my car without any tinting (yet) and the pano roof cools quickly and I've had no issues with the AC. The only thing is that the AC motor can be quite loud when the car is very hot, but this usually goes away after a minute or two.