Keep cabin overheat protection on permanently

[GtiMart]

Slight note here: COP will not maintain 12V constantly. COP will wake the car regularly to cool the cabin, and the 12V are active while the car is awake. There might be periods where it doesn't get hot enough in the car and it has time to fall asleep. You will lose 12V during that time. EDIT: Maybe in Arizona that doesn't happen but in other places in the world it might.
Sentry mode keeps the car awake, that is a better way of keeping 12V active all the time.

 

[TravelFree]

Environments don't get much more hostile than here in the Arizona desert. Cabin overheat protection uses around 15 kWh during a 10-hour work day. So I'd guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 kWh maximum power use for a full day's use. That's enough power to run an average home for an entire day in more hospitable climates.

One legitimate use I've found for COP is that it keeps the 12V outlet alive so that my in-car refrigerator (Dometic) will stay running while taking a road trip and parking for several hours, supercharging or staying overnight in a hotel.

For when I travel I use an igloo cooler for drinks and sandwiches too. I added a 12v receptacle that is not switched with it's own fuse I use to keep it running. I believe it draws 5 amps or 60watts. Not bad at all.

I've been to Arizona a number of road trips and I agree with you about the heat much worse than Florida. When your outside air temps are 125°F does Cabin overheat even work? I'm near the coast so we get sea breeze, like today I doubt my COP will even activate. It's only 84° now.

Anyway, since I forgot to reset it yesterday, I now have more glue that dripped out of the seat backs I need to clean up. It usually melts at 135°


On your 15KWh per day, that might represent 60 miles range loss in a a car like my Model S which is pretty high. I've never lost that much in a week.

 

[TravelFree]

There is absolutely, positively no recommendation from tesla, or elon anywhere that says "setting the charge current low".

Keeping the car plugged in has been recommended. Setting the charge current to low is the way the EVSE works when plugged into the 120v outlet with a 15 amp breaker. I could set it higher but that would frequently trip the circuit breaker. It works fine at maintaining my SOC during my off days. I use the Tesla Wall charger when needing to charge up for a trip. That runs a maximum of 48 amps 240v.

If my outlet I use was wired with 12Ga and had a 20 amp breaker the proper amp setting would be to lower it to 16 amps.

You do what you want. What I do follows the design of the equipment and follows the NEC and it works.

 

[TravelFree]

Slight note here: COP will not maintain 12V constantly. COP will wake the car regularly to cool the cabin, and the 12V are active while the car is awake. There might be periods where it doesn't get hot enough in the car and it has time to fall asleep. You will lose 12V during that time. EDIT: Maybe in Arizona that doesn't happen but in other places in the world it might.
Sentry mode keeps the car awake, that is a better way of keeping 12V active all the time.

Also the TeslaFi app can be setup to keep the car awake by simply polling. This might be more efficient than sentry mode which seems to really hit on that phantom drain number. I've never experimented with it but as I recall it didn't reset the timer on COP which is something I'm looking for.

 

[GtiMart]

Don't think so... The energy spent in Sentry is the energy spent because the car is awake. 200-250w constant instead of ~20w, something in that ballpark. Sentry doesn't add much if anything. Keeping some polling through TeslaFi or other should result in very similar draw. COP would potentially draw more energy running the fan, and even more running the AC.

 

[Big Earl]

Keeping the car plugged in has been recommended. Setting the charge current to low is the way the EVSE works when plugged into the 120v outlet with a 15 amp breaker. I could set it higher but that would frequently trip the circuit breaker. It works fine at maintaining my SOC during my off days. I use the Tesla Wall charger when needing to charge up for a trip. That runs a maximum of 48 amps 240v.

If my outlet I use was wired with 12Ga and had a 20 amp breaker the proper amp setting would be to lower it to 16 amps.

You do what you want. What I do follows the design of the equipment and follows the NEC and it works.

You have a Wall Connector but use the Mobile Connector for regular charging? If you want low charge current, why not just use the Wall Connector and turn the amperage down in the car? Or just leave the amperage at a reasonable level and let it cycle as necessary? As was mentioned earlier, there is no recommendation to charge at low current.

 

[jjrandorin]

Keeping the car plugged in has been recommended. Setting the charge current to low is the way the EVSE works when plugged into the 120v outlet with a 15 amp breaker.

But you combined two things into one, and stated that it was a recommendation from tesla, and it absolutely isnt. "Keeping the car plugged in" is the recommendation, and there is no recommendation whatsoever from tesla about reducing charge speed. You combined them and said there was.

 

[TravelFree]

You have a Wall Connector but use the Mobile Connector for regular charging? If you want low charge current, why not just use the Wall Connector and turn the amperage down in the car? Or just leave the amperage at a reasonable level and let it cycle as necessary? As was mentioned earlier, there is no recommendation to charge at low current.

Good question. I have two Teslas. The Model S is driven maybe twice a week locally plus road trips on supercharging. The Y, my wife drives 5-6 times a week and a few days does 150-175 miles. She uses the wall charger with the timer set to give her 80% SOC at her departure time for the long trips. On the Model S, I just use an EVSE to trickle charge and maintain the battery against phantom drain. Been doing this for nearly 2.5 years.

As I said before the recommendation is in the equipment design. The EVSE will operate at higher amperage than 12A but aside from code violation it will just keep tripping the breaker. This is a design limit plus the continuous duty amperage to be 80% of circuit peak limit.

Ideally, the best way to connect the EVSE is to set the amperage to just what is required to make up for the phantom drain, ie maintain SOC. However, Tesla didn't design their internal charger that way. Instead, the car phantom drains the battery for awhile and then comes on to charge back up to the set SOC point, then shuts off. So the EVSE may run for 2 to 3 hours and then shut off for several hours. All depends on the phantom drain, COP sentry etc.

 

[VT_EE]

For when I travel I use an igloo cooler for drinks and sandwiches too. I added a 12v receptacle that is not switched with it's own fuse I use to keep it running. I believe it draws 5 amps or 60watts. Not bad at all.

I've been to Arizona a number of road trips and I agree with you about the heat much worse than Florida. When your outside air temps are 125°F does Cabin overheat even work? I'm near the coast so we get sea breeze, like today I doubt my COP will even activate. It's only 84° now.

Anyway, since I forgot to reset it yesterday, I now have more glue that dripped out of the seat backs I need to clean up. It usually melts at 135°


On your 15KWh per day, that might represent 60 miles range loss in a a car like my Model S which is pretty high. I've never lost that much in a week.

There is something wrong with your vehicle if you are having glue dripping out of the seat.

 

[jjrandorin]

As I said before the recommendation is in the equipment design. The EVSE will operate at higher amperage than 12A but aside from code violation it will just keep tripping the breaker.

That has nothing to do with the mobile connector, and everything to do with the wiring of your 15amp circuit, whether its a dedicated one or not (it likely isnt, most are not), etc. Like you said "you do you", and I am not arguing with you about whether or not YOU need to lower your amperage or want to, thats fine.

I will repeat, however, that there is no recommendation whatsoever of any specific charge speed reductions from tesla, elon, etc. There simply is no recommendation from tesla to reduce charge speeds any lower on a home circuit than the fastest the specific device can go (32 amps for a mobile connector or 48 amps for a wall connector).

There may be reasons to lower it, like your home wiring doesnt support it, but a device that is designed to pull 32amp continuous at 240v is not the issue tripping your breaker at 12amp 120v. Its your wiring. Your fix for yourself is fine, but please do not insinuate that either "tesla says to do this" or that there is some technical reason everyone else should lower charging speeds at home based on tesla recommendation or a limitation of the evse.

 

[804son]

This whole thread reminds me of:
"You can lead a horse to water BUT you cant make it drink AND you can lead a person to wisdom BUT you cant make them think". -Susan Marie Davis

 

[TravelFree]

But you combined two things into one, and stated that it was a recommendation from tesla, and it absolutely isnt. "Keeping the car plugged in" is the recommendation, and there is no recommendation whatsoever from tesla about reducing charge speed. You combined them and said there was.

Sorry, English is my second language. Bad English is my first.

 

[P3dStealth]

Hey what if you live in an extreme cold climate. In theory you would need the opposite.

Cabin overcool protection: prevents the interior from getting to cold for up to 12hrs after you park. Industry first safety feature for people in cold climates.

I feel like people will start heating their car interiors now.

 

[STS-134]

I find it interesting that the company at the forefront of pushing the electrification of vehicles, which helps the environment, is also at the forefront of pushing the most wasteful features, like Sentry Mode (consumes a constant 150-300W) and Cabin Overheat Protection (runs the HVAC when you aren't even in the car). The guys who invented the programmable thermostat so that it would be easy to, you know, NOT have the AC on when you aren't actually home must be ****ting bricks over that one.

 

[Rocky_H]

Setting the charge current to low is the way the EVSE works when plugged into the 120v outlet with a 15 amp breaker. I could set it higher but that would frequently trip the circuit breaker. [...] What I do follows the design of the equipment and follows the NEC and it works.

Hold on a second. There is something really off here. If you even HAVE the ability AT ALL to turn it up higher than 12A on that 15A outlet, then you have something not right with the type of equipment you are using or the configuration of it or something, and you are doing something, whether intentional or not, that isn't really following NEC. If you are using proper equipment made to plug into a 5-15 outlet, it should be telling the car that 12A is the maximum current available, and there should be no way it would allow you to turn it up above that, which you say you DO have available to you. So what are you using?

 

[Kevy Baby]

Please post the link to your proof of excessive heat damage.

Is this your first car?

Okay, so you live in Colorado where the average annual temperature for the state is 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit; well below what people in many southern states (AZ, NM, TX, CA, FL, etc.) have lived with for, well, forever, so I can see how this is a new phenomenon to you. But those of us who have lived in these warmer climates have owned cars that after many years of baking in the hot sun end up with cracked and dry interior components. A simple Google search for car interior heat damage will give you plenty of results you are looking for if you don't trust the many people here who have attested to this very real problem.

 

[804son]

Is this your first car?

Okay, so you live in Colorado where the average annual temperature for the state is 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit; well below what people in many southern states (AZ, NM, TX, CA, FL, etc.) have lived with for, well, forever, so I can see how this is a new phenomenon to you. But those of us who have lived in these warmer climates have owned cars that after many years of baking in the hot sun end up with cracked and dry interior components. A simple Google search for car interior heat damage will give you plenty of results you are looking for if you don't trust the many people here who have attested to this very real problem.

So a couple things, quoting an average temperature means absolutely nothing, it can reach a 105 here in the Summer and we're at 5,000 ft. In elevation. The sun is extremely powerful at this elevation and summer temperatures. The previous posts we're directly related to Tesla not whatever random pictures the internet can bring up.

 

[jjrandorin]

(moderator note)

I am moderately surprised at the passion around what I consider to be a fairly benign question / topic. On a personal level, I am all for choice. I didnt buy my model 3 "for the environment", I bought it because I thought it was the best car for my needs and it has been so.

I dont personally think cabin overheat protection needs to be left on to protect the interior of the car, I dont leave it on on my own vehicle, I just have tinted windows and a really good windshield screen, but with that being said if someone wants to spend their money on energy that way (or, say, leaving sentry mode on), im for choice.

On a moderation level, I want to remind people that passion around topics is great, and sometimes disagreements bring out really good discussion, but the disagreements should stay about the topic, and not be directed toward each other.

Thanks

 

[Regaj]

I'd also add to what @jjrandorin posted... pretty much all of us who own, or are contemplating owning, a Tesla live in societies in which our individual carbon footprint is, relatively speaking, huge. Critiquing the "wasted" energy use of something like Sentry Mode or Cabin Overheat Protection is fine. But when that critique comes from someone living in a <fill-in-the-blank> square foot home, a home that uses prodigious amounts of electricity and water, who's "other" car is an ICE SUV, and is often found commuting to work with, count 'em, all of one person in the vehicle... it kinda begs for perspective.

Said differently, if you live in a tent and commute to work on a bicycle, you probably have the moral high ground from which to lecture. For the rest of us, not so much.

 

[ucmndd]

Is this your first car?

Okay, so you live in Colorado where the average annual temperature for the state is 43.5 degrees Fahrenheit; well below what people in many southern states (AZ, NM, TX, CA, FL, etc.) have lived with for, well, forever, so I can see how this is a new phenomenon to you. But those of us who have lived in these warmer climates have owned cars that after many years of baking in the hot sun end up with cracked and dry interior components. A simple Google search for car interior heat damage will give you plenty of results you are looking for if you don't trust the many people here who have attested to this very real problem.

You are attributing to heat what is actually almost universally caused by UV exposure.

So again, the actual solution is a $5 sunshade - not air conditioning an empty space at all times.