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Interesting data on how weather affects your range

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Hi All noobie Tesla owner here.

I woke up this morning and was surprised to find that my battery range had fallen 14 miles overnight. This was the first time I've seen such a drastic drop in range in a 8 hour period since taking delivery of the Vehicle this late September. Confused I took at look at the data from the Stats dashboard I'm working on.

From the dashboard I saw this rapid decline:
decline.JPG


So I looked at the data behind it which I pasted below. Notice how the Battery Level remains the same at 23% overnight but the Usable Battery Level drops rapidly due to the cold. In the end I'm only able to use 78% of my battery. It's been getting chilly here this week but it's still fall. I dread to think how much range I'll be losing during the actual winter...

{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 06:54:29",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "73.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "57.03",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "73.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 09:04:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "72.85",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "56.69",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "72.85",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 11:15:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "71.55",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "55.68",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "71.55",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 13:26:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "69.81",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "54.33",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "69.81",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 15:37:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "62.44",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "48.6",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "62.44",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 17:48:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "60.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.91",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "60.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 18:56:31",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "59.41",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.24",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "59.41",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "18"
}

I'll be sure to add additional data on how climate affects Usable Battery Level tothe dashboard.

On another note, if you're also interested in a free stats dashboard I am looking for a few beta testers for the dashboard before I open it up to the public for use. You can find my post about it here: Gauging interest in a free tesla stats desktop dashboard
 
Last edited:
Hi All noobie Tesla owner here.

I woke up this morning and was surprised to find that my battery range had fallen 14 miles overnight. This was the first time I've seen such a drastic drop in range in a 8 hour period since taking delivery of the Vehicle this late September. Confused I took at look at the data from the Stats dashboard I'm working on.

From the dashboard I saw this rapid decline:
View attachment 602369

So I looked at the data behind it which I pasted below. Notice how the Battery Level remains the same at 23% overnight but the Usable Battery Level drops rapidly due to the cold. In the end I'm only able to use 78% of my battery. It's been getting chilly here this week but it's still fall. I dread to think how much range I'll be losing during the actual winter...

{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 06:54:29",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "73.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "57.03",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "73.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 09:04:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "72.85",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "56.69",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "72.85",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 11:15:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "71.55",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "55.68",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "71.55",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 13:26:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "69.81",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "54.33",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "69.81",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 15:37:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "62.44",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "48.6",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "62.44",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 17:48:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "60.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.91",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "60.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 18:56:31",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "59.41",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.24",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "59.41",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "18"
}

I'll be sure to add additional data on how climate affects Usable Battery Level tothe dashboard.

On another note, if you're also interested in a free stats dashboard I am looking for a few beta testers for the dashboard before I open it up to the public for use. You can find my post about it here: Gauging interest in a free tesla stats desktop dashboard
Yep, Stats and other 3rd-party apps like TeslaFi, use the temperature-dependent SOC api. If it gets cold at night, your estimated rated range will temporarily drop. This can lead to people believing they've got massive deg, when in fact, they don't.

A blue snowflake day can drop your estimated rated range by up to 30 miles. Here you can see my data showing a series of blue snowflake days showing as little as 280 miles of estimated rated range, when in fact, my battery has always shown about 310 miles:
IMG_6424.jpeg


Exporting the same data into Excel, and overlaying the ambient temp data, you can clearly see the correlation between temperature and estimated rated range because the app is using the temp-dependent SOC api. Why? Dunno, the car itself uses the other SOC api. Maybe 3rd-party apps don't have access to that SOC api?:
by default 2020-10-10 at 8.10.56 PM.jpg
 
Last edited:
Slightly related: I went on a road trip today. I turned on climate about 29 minutes before leaving. It was 30F when I left the house and stayed in the 30s for at least two hours of driving. It took 1.5 hours of highway driving (mostly 50-60 but some slower towns) without stopping before I got all my regen braking back. It’s my first winter with my Model 3 but I did not expect it to take that long.
 
Hi All noobie Tesla owner here.

I woke up this morning and was surprised to find that my battery range had fallen 14 miles overnight. This was the first time I've seen such a drastic drop in range in a 8 hour period since taking delivery of the Vehicle this late September. Confused I took at look at the data from the Stats dashboard I'm working on.

From the dashboard I saw this rapid decline:
View attachment 602369

So I looked at the data behind it which I pasted below. Notice how the Battery Level remains the same at 23% overnight but the Usable Battery Level drops rapidly due to the cold. In the end I'm only able to use 78% of my battery. It's been getting chilly here this week but it's still fall. I dread to think how much range I'll be losing during the actual winter...

{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 06:54:29",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "73.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "57.03",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "73.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 09:04:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "72.85",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "56.69",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "72.85",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "23"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 11:15:50",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "71.55",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "55.68",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "71.55",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 13:26:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "69.81",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "54.33",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "69.81",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "22"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 15:37:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "62.44",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "48.6",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "62.44",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 17:48:51",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "60.28",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.91",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "60.28",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "19"
},
{
"DateTimeUTC": "10/25/2020 18:56:31",
"Id": "141622696092",
"VehicleName": "Phanty",
"CurrentBatteryLevel": "23",
"CurrentRatedBatteryRange": "59.41",
"CurrentEstimatedBatteryRange": "46.24",
"CurrentIdealBatteryRange": "59.41",
"UsableBatteryLevel": "18"
}

I'll be sure to add additional data on how climate affects Usable Battery Level tothe dashboard.

On another note, if you're also interested in a free stats dashboard I am looking for a few beta testers for the dashboard before I open it up to the public for use. You can find my post about it here: Gauging interest in a free tesla stats desktop dashboard


You'll lose 25% in the winter.
 
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Reactions: toolman335
Slightly related: I went on a road trip today. I turned on climate about 29 minutes before leaving. It was 30F when I left the house and stayed in the 30s for at least two hours of driving. It took 1.5 hours of highway driving (mostly 50-60 but some slower towns) without stopping before I got all my regen braking back. It’s my first winter with my Model 3 but I did not expect it to take that long.

Why did you turn climate on 29 minutes before leaving? I have below zero days where I live and the car warms up in just a few minutes. 29 minutes consumes a lot of extra energy.
Regen normally doesn't take that long to come back. 30F isn't very cold either. My commute is 12 minutes. Even on below zero days the regen is working 100% by the time I get home.
Are you completely sure it wasn't working?
 
Slightly related: I went on a road trip today. I turned on climate about 29 minutes before leaving. It was 30F when I left the house and stayed in the 30s for at least two hours of driving. It took 1.5 hours of highway driving (mostly 50-60 but some slower towns) without stopping before I got all my regen braking back. It’s my first winter with my Model 3 but I did not expect it to take that long.

What time are you charging your car?

A winter charging tip is to schedule your car to charge in the morning before you leave. Then the battery will be warmed up more and you won't have to wait as long for regen to return to normal.
 
@toolman335 , you must drive HARD! 30F is enough to lose most of regen, and it comes back fully (85kW) only around 74F battery temp. You might not have dots anymore on the bar but you might not be at 85kW yet. Only with ScanMyTesla can you see that, the bar is a bit "dumb" and simplifies things so people don't panic too much :)
I've seen reports where people leave at around 30F and need 2 hours of highway driving to warm the battery enough for full regen and reasonable supercharger speeds.
Turning climate on for long periods does indeed consume a boatload of energy. That energy is to heat the battery for the most part, not the cabin. It takes a ridiculous amount of energy to heat a 1060 pound battery 45 additional degrees F.
 
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My consumption is low 300's in the winter.
2+ hours to get full regen? No way. I had this car all of last winter and I didn't experience that.

Warming up the cabin and using defrost still uses a ton of energy. Sometimes I leave it on too long so I have some pretty consistent data. I lose 1 mile of range for every 2 minutes of warming up the cabin.
Doing that for 29 minutes makes no sense even if it's at the expense of losing some regen.
 
Why did you turn climate on 29 minutes before leaving? I have below zero days where I live and the car warms up in just a few minutes. 29 minutes consumes a lot of extra energy.
Regen normally doesn't take that long to come back. 30F isn't very cold either. My commute is 12 minutes. Even on below zero days the regen is working 100% by the time I get home.
Are you completely sure it wasn't working?

It easily takes my car 30 miles/30 mins to get a full bar of regen in Bay Area winters, from sitting overnight. So I'm really surprised that you can get full regen in 12 minutes. Going into my 3rd winter.
 
Why did you turn climate on 29 minutes before leaving?...
Are you completely sure it wasn't working?

What time are you charging your car?

A winter charging tip is to schedule your car to charge in the morning before you leave. Then the battery will be warmed up more and you won't have to wait as long for regen to return to normal.

I started the climate to get the car warmed up for departure for my own comfort - I usually only turn it on 5-15 beforehand but it took me longer to get out the door than planned. The regen braking was working as much as I needed it but the dots lasted for the long drive, slowly disappearing.

My current charging situation is that I plug into a 120v inside a storage closet outside so only charge during the day. Old house, needs a big rewire/upgrade and then I will have an outdoor charger (garage was turned into a master bedroom by previous owner). It’s good to know I will have full regen braking when I drive if I’m charge prior to leaving.