Keep battery full or as is for random car use

[broke_S]

I use the car once in few days. When I get home is 40-50% and don't have to drive for few days, maybe one week.
What would be better for battery health, leave it as is, 40%, and charge it to full just before next drive or charge it to full directly when I get home and keep it full for the days I am not driving?

 

[LoudMusic]

Set charge to 80% and plug it in when you get home. Leave it plugged in when not in use.

 

[Resist]

The latest data shows that for best battery health, keep it around 50% or less and charge it to what you need for the day prior to leaving.

 

[E90alex]

The lower the SOC the better when it’s just sitting.

Do you drive far when do you drive it? Do you typically know far in advance as to when you’ll need to drive it and how far?

 

[LoudMusic]

Low state of charge kills cells.

 

[Resist]

Low state of charge kills cells.

Not according to the Lithium Ion research.

 

[E90alex]

Low state of charge kills cells.

The car will not let you get to low enough voltage to damage the battery which is below ~2.5-3.0V at the cell level. Even at 0% indicated on the screen the cells are still above 3V. There is no concern about damage from low charge/voltage unless maybe you drive until the car literally stops moving and leave it there unplugged for weeks/months.

Below 55% is ideal for storage to minimize degradation. There’s various threads and posts about low degradation already.

If I were the OP I would keep it plugged in set at 50% unless a spontaneous drive would require more range. Keeping it plugged in makes it easy to increase the charge level as needed anytime from anywhere.

 

[LoudMusic]

I'd set it to 80% but your just going to down vote me again.

Weeeeeeeeee!

 

[Mercimek]

Set to 50% limit and plug in. Night before you need the extra range, set to the level you need and schedule it to charge to that level just before you leave. That way you minimize time at higher charge levels.

 

[dn325ci]

Set to 50% limit and plug in. Night before you need the extra range, set to the level you need and schedule it to charge to that level just before you leave. That way you minimize time at higher charge levels.

Yes. This is what I do. Sometimes my car can sit for a week I leave it set to 50% but plugged in and I can start charging from anywhere.

 

[broke_S]

Forgot to mention in my initial email, got an LFP battery (MY RWD), but I guess is the same.
Maybe a good indication, how Tesla stores and transports the cars from China to US or Europe on boat, and how they keep them in storage.before loading on the boat and at destination before selling. Are they fully loaded at departure? I doubt there is a way to keep them plugged in. could be 2-3 weeks not on plug.

 

[E90alex]

For LFP you can go up to 70% for storage without a big increase in degradation based on current studies, but lower is still fine as long as it works for your usage.

 

[Big Earl]

Forgot to mention in my initial email, got an LFP battery (MY RWD), but I guess is the same.
Maybe a good indication, how Tesla stores and transports the cars from China to US or Europe on boat, and how they keep them in storage.before loading on the boat and at destination before selling. Are they fully loaded at departure? I doubt there is a way to keep them plugged in. could be 2-3 weeks not on plug.

Tesla specifies 48% max state of charge for ground shipping and 28% max state of charge for air shipping or low isolation ground shipping on NCA chemistry. LFP chemistry might be different - someone with an LFP pack will need to check service mode. This is for safety - not for battery health.

For your use case, I would maintain it between 50% and 80% - whatever you feel provides you with enough range to seek refuge in an emergency - and be sure to charge to 100% once per week to maintain proper battery management system calibration. Some people like to keep the car plugged in all the time - doing so won't hurt. Not doing so also won't hurt it.

 

[jankratochvil]

For the battery health it is indisputable 50% is better than 51%..-100%. The question is whether to keep it under 50% - either unplugged or plugged with manually stopped charging. Data clearly shows the lower the better - such as 0-10%: Hearing super conflicting advice about battery charging levels
I just find problematic <50% charging level (SoC) that Tesla says you should always plug it in and minimal supported SoC is 50%. Whether Tesla will keep warranty on battery if anything bad happens with it.
But we are talking whether >90% battery health will last for 1 million or 4 million km. Which is irrelevant for the car anyway.

 

[ATPMSD]

There are literally thousands of posts on HV battery charging levels and frequency. Get a big pot of coffee and spends a few days reading…or just don‘t worry about it and enjoy the car.

 

[jankratochvil]

Data clearly shows the lower the better - such as 0-10%: Hearing super conflicting advice about battery charging levels

OK so that is also not clear. Some other data shows 50% is the best - such as: https://research.chalmers.se/publication/535926/file/535926_Fulltext.pdf#page=49
mentioned in post: charge everyday or once in 3 days

 

[ATPMSD]

OK so that is also not clear. Some other data shows 50% is the best - such as: https://research.chalmers.se/publication/535926/file/535926_Fulltext.pdf#page=49
mentioned in post: charge everyday or once in 3 days

This is why there are thousands of posts! Assuming you keep the car no more than 8-years (or 120,000 miles), you are covered by the battery warranty, so don't waste your time on this. Note also, no matter what you do, it will have little significant impact on the battery - the only exception is continuing to drive past 0% SOC.

Just do that Tesla recommends:

• Keep the car plugged in when not in use
• For daily use, charge to 80% and use 100% for trips
• If you have an LFP battery, be sure to change to 100% at least once a week

So stop worrying and just enjoy your car!

 

[jankratochvil]

Assuming you keep the car no more than 8-years (or 120,000 miles),

Not sure, my last ICE car had 13 years and 190000 miles.

you are covered by the battery warranty,

That just says >=70%. I do not want to have 29% lower range. Tesla company does not care whether you have 70% or 99% SoH after 8 years.

Note also, no matter what you do, it will have little significant impact on the battery - the only exception is continuing to drive past 0% SOC.

I live 50% of time in a different country with Tesla parked and unused for 6 months (this time even 18 months). Your suggested 80% vs. my used 50% makes a measurable difference of 2% SoH (or just 1% SoH?) at car's EOL according to Troy's statistics - 2%*75kWh=1.5kWh which is about USD 931 of current battery market value. I admit the battery value will be less in the future at EOL of the car when the battery goes to its 2nd life as a house battery.

So stop worrying and just enjoy your car!

You can see above making a one time setting change 50% vs. 80% makes a difference of 5 manmonths salary in Philippines (a work I can hire). And I am curious whether a 5% SoC would not save even more of my money (I do have my Tesla API charging program which could maintain SoC under 50%).

 

[ATPMSD]

@jankratochvil

You are very atypical, so in your case it may be worth research. The only way to validate your points is through experimatation with your car.

 

[tga]

For daily use, charge to 80% and use 100% for trips

To be clear, Tesla does not say to "charge to 80% and use 100% for trips", but rather that you can use UP TO 80% for daily use and UP TO 100% for trips. There is no NEED to charge to those levels.

Leaving the SoC slider at 50% (or anything below 80%) for daily use is within their requirement/recommendations.

Charging LFP's to 100% weekly is not for battery health or longevity, but just accuracy of the SoC estimates.