How much battery does A/C use with "keep climate on"?

[Dan203]

If you use the "keep climate on" option on a hot day 90F+ how much battery do you lose while it's parked? I've seen a few videos/tests about what it does when using the heat, but I can't seem to find any similar tests with the A/C. I don't really care about the cold much, but I like being cool in the summer. Just wondering if leaving the climate on all the time is a viable option?

 

[Big Earl]

Turn it on for a day and see what you get.

Seriously, though, it isn’t too bad. A few percent per day.

 

[Dan203]

Oh that's not bad at all. One of the YouTube videos I saw where they tested it overnight with heat ate up 40% of the battery. That could be a problem. A few percent is no big deal.

 

[Big Earl]

Maybe I misunderstood your original question. I thought you meant Cabin Overheat Protection, which keeps it below 100°F. If you use Keep Climate On with a setpoint of 70°F, it will use a lot more energy. Not as much as the heat will, but more than overheat protection.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Maybe I misunderstood your original question. I thought you meant Cabin Overheat Protection, which keeps it below 100°F. If you use Keep Climate On with a setpoint of 70°F, it will use a lot more power. Not as much as the heat will, but more than overheat protection.

yes, that has also been my experience...…… tho I think we are talking about energy instead of power

 

[ewoodrick]

It's better if you pre-cool.
During some days when showing the car in the summer, I remember 20+ mph.

 

[animorph]

I think my old rule of thumb for A/C cooling was about 10 RM/hour. Of course YMMV depending on temperature. Heating is a whole other story, much worse since it uses a resistance heater instead of a heat pump.

 

[brkaus]

cooling is far less than heat. But no reason to keep the cooling (or heat) on for a long time. A few min makes a huge difference. 15 minutes is golden.

 

[Dan203]

Is there a timer? Like at X time or after X hours/minutes turn on A/C? Or do you have to use the app?

 

[astrowunder]

Is there a timer? Like at X time or after X hours/minutes turn on A/C? Or do you have to use the app?

The only time you would want to engage the 'keep climate on' is if you're camping or hanging out in the car for a long time. The usage will depend a lot on outside conditions. I think Bjorn Nyland did a test of this if you search on his videos. If I remember right a really cold night can chew through something like 1/3 of a full charge. When I say really cold I'm talking below zero Fahrenheit.

 

[jebinc]

I think my old rule of thumb for A/C cooling was about 10 RM/hour. Of course YMMV depending on temperature. Heating is a whole other story, much worse since it uses a resistance heater instead of a heat pump.

A heat pump for AC and heat, with resistance heating for temps below 35 degrees would be awesome to have. Tesla probably did go this route due to cost, weight or response time for heating. Too bad as it would have saved a lot of energy in the fall and spring seasons.

 

[JulienW]

Believe it has been stated that full on with high fan the AC uses a max of about 1kW. Don't remember reading about the heater but being a resistance it is probably closer to 2kW. Anyone please correct the figures if I'm incorrect.

 

[Big Earl]

Believe it has been stated that full on with high fan the AC uses a max of about 1kW. Don't remember reading about the heater but being a resistance it is probably closer to 2kW. Anyone please correct the figures if I'm incorrect.

Full-on cabin cooling is somewhere around 2.5 kW. Add battery cooling and it jumps to around 4 kW.

 

[lolder]

I keep AC on at 80º F. for about an hour in 90+ Florida Sun while eating lunch at restaurants with a flip open windshield screen and both Tesla roof screens. It uses 4-6 miles of battery which is about a Kwh or 10-15 cents for me. Luxury !

 

[Hankmancini]

My wife and I keep climate control on when we leave our model 3 parked in the Sun almost daily with the temperature set to 73F. Durations have been as short as 15 minutes and as long a 3 hours. The outside temperature here in OC, CA is typically in the mid 80's. We seem to use 4 to 5 miles of range per hour and feel it is well worth it. Keeping climate control on is one of our favorite features!

 

[brkaus]

I believe the resistance heater is 6kW. I was charging on a 32a/208v connector once. Put the car on "hi" temp (accidentally). It was enough drain that it was slightly discharging while heating.

 

[zosoisnotaword]

Based on my charging time estimate going from a defined time to 24+ hours on a 3.3kW circuit when I first start preconditioning, HVAC on max definitely uses more than 3kW.

Just from experience, parking in direct sunlight in 90F+ temps with climate control on can probably be put in the 1-2kW range if the interior temperature is already at the setpoint. It still has to work fairly hard to maintain temperature in those conditions (usually ~6 fan speed). But I haven't done any real testing.

 

[D.E.]

If you use the "keep climate on" option on a hot day 90F+ how much battery do you lose while it's parked? I've seen a few videos/tests about what it does when using the heat, but I can't seem to find any similar tests with the A/C. I don't really care about the cold much, but I like being cool in the summer. Just wondering if leaving the climate on all the time is a viable option?

We went to see the eclipse, so went early. I parked my S on hot asphalt parking lot, in the sun, 90+F degree weather. I ran the A/C all day, I kept the inside at 70F to provide a cool area for an infant and his breastfeeding mom. I was curious about the energy consumption of just the A/C.

My car’s range decreased at about 6 miles of range per hour of cooling.

 

[Dan203]

I keep AC on at 80º F. for about an hour in 90+ Florida Sun while eating lunch at restaurants with a flip open windshield screen and both Tesla roof screens. It uses 4-6 miles of battery which is about a Kwh or 10-15 cents for me. Luxury !

This is what I'm talking about. Thanks. I'm thinking about times when I go to the movies, or to lunch, etc... for a couple hours and would rather come out to a cool car then an oven where every surface is hard to touch and it takes 10m for it to become comfortable. If I could just get in and have it be comfortable that would be awesome.

 

[Hankmancini]

This is what I'm talking about. Thanks. I'm thinking about times when I go to the movies, or to lunch, etc... for a couple hours and would rather come out to a cool car then an oven where every surface is hard to touch and it takes 10m for it to become comfortable. If I could just get in and have it be comfortable that would be awesome.

The time we left climate control on for 3 hours was when we went to a movie and had to park in the sun. It was great to get back to our cool and comfortable Model 3!