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How often do you charge?
- Thread starter m3p_uk
- Start date
I think that's an impossible question since it depends entirely on lifestyle and car usage. From a purely theoretical standpoint there will be an optimal storage charge %. With lithium Polymer that is/used to be 60%. Li-ion is a bit different and Teslas own chemistry doubtless has a specific storage charge that they keep to themselves. IIRC their anode swells by 300% from empty to full with Lithium ions so again a guess would be to keep it around 60% to allow for some slow losses but that could be wildy out for reasons I know nowt about. Also theoretically I'd expect that keeping it plugged in and trickled is more use than alliquots of charge - but you'ld never get to drive it.
For me i charge mine to 70% which gives me enough range for my general needs and recharge when it drops to 40%-ish. But today i happily charged to 100% for a day trip to avoid any anxieties or need to moderate my driving. As to DC - well i have unlimited supercharging and no chance with poor cell signals so no smart meter option to get a really good EV leccy deal so if I happen to go by a supercharger and not in a hurry I'll grab free electrons - as many as my schedule allows.
For me i charge mine to 70% which gives me enough range for my general needs and recharge when it drops to 40%-ish. But today i happily charged to 100% for a day trip to avoid any anxieties or need to moderate my driving. As to DC - well i have unlimited supercharging and no chance with poor cell signals so no smart meter option to get a really good EV leccy deal so if I happen to go by a supercharger and not in a hurry I'll grab free electrons - as many as my schedule allows.
Tam
Well-Known Member
The owner manual encourages frequent charging as much as possible and there's no advantage in waiting.
Service Center is recommending charging at 90% and not below 90% if you can.
Interesting vid here. Chap keeps it between 20-80%, says Tesla checked his battery degradation after a year and it’s one of the least degraded they’ve seen. It also goes into some detail on the SoC % v. Miles calc
The bloke who did our group handover at West Drayton stressed that 90% was what Tesla recommended. He said he’d seen loads of comments on forums that 80% was optimal but maintained that 90% was the figure to aim for. Elon has also tweeted (can’t find the link now) that 90% or even 95% is fine. I always charge to 95%.
Max charge on mine was set to 90% when I collected it at West Drayton and I was told this is the recommended setting. I left it on 90%. I have been charging when it gets to around 50%, but I don't think there is any magic in that and it is what keeps us comfortable being new to fully electric motoring.
Personally, I find this one of the most frustrating topics among Tesla drivers. There have been so many conflicting opinions over the four years I've had my car that it is very confusing. Normally, I try to charge only to 70% most of the time because my daily needs are quite modest. Sometimes in the warm weather I will skip a day or maybe even two If I'm still above 50%. In the winter I am much more religious about plugging it in every night. One thing, keeping it plugged in allows you to preheat or pre-cool from shore power without having to drain energy from the battery. In the winter, that also allows the battery heater to run in the really cold weather.
Good luck sorting out all the conflicting opinions on this topic!
Good luck sorting out all the conflicting opinions on this topic!
Being retired, I don’t really have a set routine. My max is typically 90% (as per Elon tweet above) and I normally plug in if I get home with less than 50%.
The lowest I’d prefer to take the battery is 20%, but I did get home once after a day out with 13 miles left, so about 11%.
It is important to charge to 100% say once a month, so the car can balance the cells. The main thing is not to charge to 100% and leave it there for days. Also DC charging puts much more stress on the battery. Home charging is much kinder.
I’m fairly relaxed about this, as I think the batteries are more durable than many people think. Many of the stories you hear are from cars used in extreme climates, hot or cold, or people that Supercharge all the time.
I lost 3% battery on my Leaf 24 over two years and 20k miles, and always charged that to 100%.
The Kona I had for 12 months and 15k miles, and it didn’t lose anything. I charged that to 80% unless going on a trip.
The lowest I’d prefer to take the battery is 20%, but I did get home once after a day out with 13 miles left, so about 11%.
It is important to charge to 100% say once a month, so the car can balance the cells. The main thing is not to charge to 100% and leave it there for days. Also DC charging puts much more stress on the battery. Home charging is much kinder.
I’m fairly relaxed about this, as I think the batteries are more durable than many people think. Many of the stories you hear are from cars used in extreme climates, hot or cold, or people that Supercharge all the time.
I lost 3% battery on my Leaf 24 over two years and 20k miles, and always charged that to 100%.
The Kona I had for 12 months and 15k miles, and it didn’t lose anything. I charged that to 80% unless going on a trip.
.jg.
Member
In the owner's manual, under "Battery Information", there is this:
My understanding is that the battery technology of the Model 3 is slightly different from the Model S and Model X and that charging to 90% every day is OK for the Model 3, whereas 80% might be safer for a Model S or Model X. AFAIK, above 93%, the battery management starts "levelling", where it aims to get all the cells to the same voltage. It is probably unwise to be doing this every day. There is some evidence that lots of supercharging and leaving the car parked up when at a high state of charge are both detrimental to battery longevity.
About the Battery
Model S has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. The most important way to preserve the Battery is to LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when you are not using it. This is particularly important if you are not planning to drive Model S for several weeks. When plugged in, Model S wakes up when needed to a charge level that maximizes the lifetime of the battery.
The text for Model X and Model 3 cars is similar.Model S has one of the most sophisticated battery systems in the world. The most important way to preserve the Battery is to LEAVE YOUR VEHICLE PLUGGED IN when you are not using it. This is particularly important if you are not planning to drive Model S for several weeks. When plugged in, Model S wakes up when needed to a charge level that maximizes the lifetime of the battery.
My understanding is that the battery technology of the Model 3 is slightly different from the Model S and Model X and that charging to 90% every day is OK for the Model 3, whereas 80% might be safer for a Model S or Model X. AFAIK, above 93%, the battery management starts "levelling", where it aims to get all the cells to the same voltage. It is probably unwise to be doing this every day. There is some evidence that lots of supercharging and leaving the car parked up when at a high state of charge are both detrimental to battery longevity.
Its not about how often you charge...Tesla recommend always keep the car plugged in when not using it and depending on the level of charge you have set (i vote for 70% but anything between 50-90% is fine) you shouldn't worry about 'how often do you charge'...the car looks after itself!
We mainly work from home so use the car infrequently. Most of the time it's a toy rather than a tool I'm ashamed to say. We run Sentry every night but not during the day and then maybe do two or three trips a week, often quite short. So we tend to charge maybe every third day when it drops below 50% and up to 80% ish. We haven't used a supercharger yet (2 months ownership!)
We did charge to around 87% ish once when we had 150 miles to do but other than that, not charged above this level. Should we be doing a 100% charge now and again to "balance" the cells? I see this discussed periodically. Thanks.
We did charge to around 87% ish once when we had 150 miles to do but other than that, not charged above this level. Should we be doing a 100% charge now and again to "balance" the cells? I see this discussed periodically. Thanks.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
Do you have a source for this? I am not familiar with a need to charge to 100% ever or to balance the cells?
The most common view I can find now seems to be only charge to 100% if you really need to and even then time it to get to 100% just before setting off so its not held at 100% for long periods.
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