WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
If I drive on Range Mode all the time I will use less kWh and thus charge less / less often. Perhaps that saving outweighs the risk of running at a slightly higher temperature?
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ArtInCT
Always Learning
I think that the correct answer to your question revolves around your typical daily use case.
For example, My typical daily use is about 12% of the battery capacity.
So I charge on a daily 5:30 AM cycle to 60%.
About 20 minutes prior to leaving home in the AM, when attached to shore power, I start the climate to 68F to warm/cool the cabin.
I do not use range mode as I am not range challenged in my typical use.
However, when I go on a long trip, where range is important, I flip on Range Mode while on the road an when the
battery comes up to operating temp.
Here in Connecticut my typical current temp is 37 - 45 F so that is rather cold and Range Mode seems to
moderate the output of the cabin heater to be "cooler". For short trips that is not so wonderful. However
for long trips once the cabin is warm and I switch to seat heaters and steering wheel heater, then Range is Fine.
So I think your personal use case is important. I generally treat my Tesla just like a regular ICE car.
My short daily use allows this.
The energy savings by using Range Mode are very very small. Probably as insignificant as the effect on battery life due to heat.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Used to be on this forum? I am crushed! (It is true that I have not been around very much lately, but...)
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
As has been pointed out elsewhere in this thread, range mode on is required for the Ds to get the full benefit of Torque Sleep.
What no one has mentioned recently is that if one leaves range mode on in the winter, the battery will not heat when one preheats the car, very possibly resulting in regen limits at the start of the trip. So like AWDtsla, since we always want to drive with range mode on, to get the full benefit of torque sleep, and since we like to avoid being regen limited, in the winter we have to remember to turn range mode off when we get home, so that the pack will heat when we preheat the car, and then also remember to turn it back on when we leave.
Sorry, hadn't seen you around in quite some time. Glad you're back.
WannabeOwner
Well-Known Member
I find it very hard to quantify because most of my long journeys are with Range Mode ON, and I frequently encounter road works and traffic hold ups, whereas my shorter journeys are usually traffic-free, and when I am range-consious I don't do the oocasional burst to 80MPH and so on ... but that said I see 10-15% improvement (from whatever the benefit actually is). [Car is an MS P90D]
Apropos
Member
I'd
The only trade off reduced Regen performance and possibly longer to access full battery potential?
Not for a long trip, waste heat from the inverters/motors will warm the battery while cruising. I could think of a unique scenario you have a long but steep descent from a mountain where it could pay off. The grade, length, and current pack temperature would have to be just right to end up net positive.
I've come to think of battery heating that's not for normal charging is just a rarely examined mode of operation for Tesla engineering. Sort of like the day-to-day operation in cold climates. "We've made sure it works in the cold" != "It works as well as it could in the cold"
Just as a general idea, I would be gentle with the accelerator when the battery is very cold. It's not good for the battery to draw a lot of power from it when it's cold. Charging warms up the battery very well. I monitored the battery temperature while charging and it's significant. If you live in a cold place, timing the charge session to end when you need the car in the morning will help a lot. It doesn't cost any extra energy.
Andyw2100
Well-Known Member
Many of us who live in cold climates do this. I've written about this many times. Because it is not completely straight forward to compute the perfect charging start time, this is one of the reasons many of us have been asking Tesla to provide an option to allow us to schedule the charge end time. Providing that option, and also providing the option to heat the pack without requiring that we also heat the cabin at the same time would be extremely helpful.
There is an app that is going to have that feature soon. Dashboard for Tesla has a few features already that go beyond just using the normal remote commands. The developer is working on the smart charging feature. So there is hope.
I also agree I would like to see more specific control like heating the battery and other features. Given Tesla's history, they are very much on the 'keep it simple' side and don't expose technical details or features.
Spoiler Alert, Dashboard for Tesla is going to come out with this feature. Like, very soon.
I actually tried it geared up for snowboarding, minus the boots of course. Still unpleasant sitting motionless for an hour+. At least you can move around and generate heat on the slopes. It doesn't even help that much as you quickly discover you need to turn on heat to defrost the windows.
so reading thru this thread, i should leave range mode on in the summer (very hot here in so cal 90F-105-110F summers) which really seems to help conserve battery life
But in the winter (temps 32F-50F) should i leave it off? 75D AP2 car. It was 55F outside with range mode ON during a 50 mile drive and final range was 32 miles left _ I got this warning:
battery low there will be significantly less energy if it gets colder we recommend charging now. (which I did since I was back home).
Summer : range mode ON
Winter: keep range mode OFF?
I've generally been leaving it on with the general feeling it seems to help (it's socal we use the AC 90% of the time).
But in the winter (temps 32F-50F) should i leave it off? 75D AP2 car. It was 55F outside with range mode ON during a 50 mile drive and final range was 32 miles left _ I got this warning:
battery low there will be significantly less energy if it gets colder we recommend charging now. (which I did since I was back home).
Summer : range mode ON
Winter: keep range mode OFF?
I've generally been leaving it on with the general feeling it seems to help (it's socal we use the AC 90% of the time).
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No the other way around.
In winter I have RANGE MODE ON. This prevents the car from actively heating the battery but uses waste heat from inverter/gearbox to warm battery.
Summer I have RANGE MODE OFF. This to keep the battery from getting warmer than it needs when weather is warm to start with.
In winter I have RANGE MODE ON. This prevents the car from actively heating the battery but uses waste heat from inverter/gearbox to warm battery.
Summer I have RANGE MODE OFF. This to keep the battery from getting warmer than it needs when weather is warm to start with.
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